technoculture314-09

content for all

2009-10-18T22:23:00.002+13:00

It's a universal truth that anyone with access to the internet has the power to create and share content. This has left the traditional cultural gatekeepers – the television executives, newspaper owners, book publishers, record companies and movie producers under siege. There's no denying that Web 2.0 has been a bonus for budding film makers and musicians, or more appropriately the produser and cocreator. Take amateur filmmaker Jason van Genderen who last year won Tropfest New York with a 3 ½ minute short film about homelessness, which was shot on a mobile phone and made with a budget of $57. Forget the traditional distribution channels, just put your movie up on YouTube for free. It's a huge finger wag at the traditional gatekeepers who have until now controlled the tide of talent; now culture has been liberated and democratised. The downside is that you have to wade through a lot of D-grade content to find the gems. It may sound patronising but can readers, viewers and listeners be trusted to identify the best content without the guiding hand of authoritative gatekeepers? I think it's more likely that users themselves will sift through the dross and establish a list of people whose opinion they trust. The amount of unsubstantiated content online is annoying, even for user-generated sites like Wikipedia, the so-called poster-child for Web 2.0. In a move that caused a lot of flak, the board recently announced an editorial review system. At this stage these “flagged revisions” apply only to articles about living people but may conceivably be extended to other topics. The Sydney Morning Herald reported Wikipedia's board chairman as saying: “We are no longer at the point that it is acceptable to throw things at the wall and see what sticks.” It's sparked a heated debate about the “purity of Wikipedia's original charter as a fully open user-generated reference work”. It's obvious that user-generated copy is here to stay and the traditional media gatekeepers have to adapt. Is it possible for there to be a hybrid model of both? Jose van Dijck comments in his essay Users like You, that Hollywood producers “hesitate whether to see YouTube-Google as a friend or foe:either they go after them and use their historic prowess to impose their old (content-protection) rules on this newcomer, or they side with them in creating new business and marketing models to create buzz for conventional broadcast products.

Secure and Insecure Cyberspace

2009-10-18T16:56:00.003+13:00

The concept of a "global village" has become a reality in the last couple of years, as a result of the rapidly increasing Usage of the Internet: an estimated 30-40 million users are now active within this network, either as private individuals (e.g. for E-Mail or "Web Surfing"), or for business purposes. Most companies now have their own website. As one alternative trade platform, consumers can visit these websites and obtain the information, products or services they want by registering in these websites. When registering, they always are required to sign up the service terms and conditions and provide their personal information. If not, perhaps they will be not permitted to log in and visit these websites. However, it is unfortunate that the personable information provided by the consumers is not be used properly by the relevant companies.  As a powerful medium, the internet promotes the mutual communication among people and expanding of international commerce. But many people just use it as a tool to commit illegal acts. Indeed, the Internet has enhanced criminals’ abilities to commit traditional crimes more efficiently and anonymously and it has also created new opportunities for crime, such as Internet crime. Internet Fraud is such a kind of Internet crime. On the one hand, it seriously destroys the normal management of Internet information system, and makes people suspect the truth of Internet information. On the other hand, it also seriously damages the other social and economic interests. Hence, it is necessary to take the practicable steps to prevent and combat Internet Fraud so as to protect the benefit of net-users and make the Internet become a safe place for transaction and exchange.

Bibliography: Preventing and Combating Internet Fraud Introduction

Suicide Girls

2009-10-18T14:00:00.002+13:00

Controlling the gaze is probably the crux of what this site is all about.. The main point being that by taking their own photos they are, in their own minds, not being exploited. But is this the truth?? Are they not inviting anyone and everyone onto the site to ogle at them, no matter which part they choose to display, the fact remains that somebody, somewhere is taking advantage of the image..

That beauty is in the eye of the beholder is what attracts most girls to this site, and that in displaying their outer beauty they are also inviting viewers or followers into their minds. They do so by putting specifically chosen photos up, for example, as mentioned in the reading, a close-up of their eye, is this to signify the idea of "in the eye of the beholder"? And by posting blogs to show their intellect they are maintaining a site that promotes beauty as well as brains they think that the control is within their grasp.

I would say that while this might give them the sense of control but really they are still being exploited in the way that viewers can do what they like with the photos that they post. And by saying that they are sick of being discriminated against because they don't fit the bill of what is "beautiful" they are only making another group in which only girls that fit their own bill can be apart of. In effect, they themselves are discriminating against others. While I give them credit for trying to be different, I think that they should at least realize the hypocrisy in which this site occupies.

copyright and might of the pen

2009-10-17T16:44:00.003+13:00

At the tutorial on Thursday, we discussed New Zealand's copyright law and someone asked if similar legislation had been introduced in other countries. I found this article in The Sydney Morning Herald which reported on the French lower house of parliament recently passing a law that would cut off internet access for those caught pirating movies and music. Nick Galvin reported: “If the bill makes it onto the statute books, draconian is not the word. Offenders face having their access suspended, fines of up to almost $500,000 and even jail time. Oh, and Parents will be held responsible if their children are caught with illegal downloads.” Not surprisingly The French entertainment industry, is behind the legislation. New Zealand legislators are reconsidering section 92A, but as discussed in the tutorial it's more likely we will fall into line with American legislators and introduce stiff copyright laws. The issue of copyright is a hot topic among publishers, journalists and authors. Writers can be a feisty lot and the debate about Google Print shows that there's still some might in the pen. The New Zealand Society of Authors lashed out at Google, claiming that the search engine giant has “stolen our intellectual property, our most valuable possession.” Here's the back story: In 2005 the US Authors Guild and a coalition of publishers filed a class-action lawsuit against Google for copyright infringement. Google argued fair use. In October 2008 formal resolution was cut short when the parties announced they had reached an out-of-court settlement. This settlement is subject to a final approval hearing in a New York Federal Court on 7 October 2009. Authors affected by the settlement had until last month to opt-in or opt-out of Google and among the high-profile New Zealand authors choosing to opt-out were Margaret Mahy. NZ Herald recently reported that The US Justice Department has advised a federal judge that a proposed legal settlement giving Google the digital rights to millions of out of print books threatens to thwart competition and drive up prices unless it's revised. The latest missive comes from The Authors Guild of America, who are suing Google Inc in a federal court, alleging that the web search leader's bid to digitise the book collections of major libraries infringes individual authors' copyrights. What's interesting is that Google Print has exploded into the top ranks of US internet sites, rising to the 30th most visited site for the week ending September 17 from 90th a week earlier. Google's official response to books online is that it directly benefits authors and publishers by increasing awareness of and sales of the books in the programme. And yes, only small portions of the books are shown unless the content owner gives permission to show more. But books, like music are still subject to illegal downloads. The Guardian reported that pirated copies of Dan Brown’s new Robert Langdon thriller The Lost Symbol started appearing across the internet only a day after the book was published: available for download via peer-to-peer sites including The Pirate Bay and Scribd.com. Nothing like a good thriller to incite a crime.

Prosumers or exploited workers?

2009-10-16T23:57:00.002+13:00

In the era of Web 2.0, the rise of the ‘prosumer’ signals an increased blurring of the roles and domains of the professional/producer and the consumer. With a focus on the increased participation, agency and creativity of user generated content, the fact that the term prosumer also signals the subsequent blurring of work (production) and leisure (consumption) is often bypassed. This notion it seems is to the advantage of corporations who are increasingly capitalising on user generated content (UGC).

The notion of the prosumer is generally viewed as potentially liberating and challenging to traditional corporate and industry standards. Nevertheless corporations are using UGC to their own advantage and making it work for them. For example, fan based appropriation of mainstream content can be seen as a challenge to traditional media, whereby fans take what is significant to them from mainstream content and appropriate it in creative ways in order to make it more meaningful to them - to create their own sense of individuality within a homogenous society. However, this fan produced content produced for ‘fun’ during leisure time, has been increasingly embraced if not encouraged by the corporations who own the rights to the original mainstream material as a means of generating publicity. The blurring of work and leisure becomes evident in this instance when it is the corporations, not the fans who benefit financially from such prosumer activity.

It is interesting to consider how something that seems like play and leisure can be infact a form of work. Along these lines it is the corporations that are benefiting from the developing forms of voluntary labour which ultimately add to the value of sites and infrustructure. It it important to dig deeper when considering these issues. The term 'prosumer' it seems has been constructed as a kind of buzzword, wrapped up in notions of active participation and cultural citizenship. These claims need to be carefully considered as there is a danger of buying into the rhetoric and hype.

Arggh me hearties. (In my best pirate voice).

2009-10-16T23:45:00.001+13:00

I find myself in a dire situation. Contemplating my choices for a Friday night viewing schedule, I notice a distinct lack in quality, a common sight for most television stations in New Zealand. Between the usual suspects of Rove (who by all accounts offers nothing but culturally imperialistic, American-style hogwash) I contemplate my choices and can’t help feeling distraught. On a whim, I decide to go on to the internet and have a poke around to see if I can muster anything with a soul, something provoking, something enjoyable and something that I can really enjoy. I end up a surfthechannel.com, which unless you have been living underneath a rock for the last year or so, offers links to pretty much anything that you desire - television shows, movies, pretty much anything that you desire. A quick search finds me settling in with a decent movie, Bruce La Bruces’ ‘The Raspberry Reich.'

This annoys me. I find myself in two minds, contemplating the nature of piracy and the affect that has on me as a viewer and the greater affect that it has on the film industry. I feel slightly guilty in the fact that I am enjoying a great art house movie, which presumably was produced on a limited budget, shown to a limited audience and properly not making much money in the process. I find that watching the drool that we are offered during regular hours of television completely mind numbing, yet the only chance of watching a great original movie is at the ‘Art House’ cinemas, or forced to reckon with the uncomfortable chairs in the audio visual library or waiting for the annual International Film Festival to arrive, in the hopes of finding an indie gem. Where does the blame lame? And should I feel guilty? Perhaps I should contemplate watching Rove, atleast knowing that by not watching art house cinema illegally, I possibly be able to catch a gem at the next film festival. Maybe.

NB: I stopped watching the movie and went to the AV Library the next week. I endured Rove for a few more minutes and was then saved by John Stewart. I find that C4 and Maori TV do offer some interesting shows from time to time. Keep an eye out.

Desperately Seeking Susan. WASP seeking Investment banker for LTR. Age or race not important.

2009-10-16T23:43:00.001+13:00

In a recent conversation with some friends, I put forward the question of whether or not any of them had an NZDating account. I quickly scanned their faces, knowing full well that none of them would admit to using one, instead looking for slight red flashes of embarrassment as two of them cast their eyes downwards. I find this interesting on a few levels:

a) I don’t understand the embarrassment (unless you’ve got a profile on this site, shame on you). Surely when you sign up to NZ Dating you are forgoing any privacy that previously existed, the whole aim of ‘the game’ being that you are advertising yourself in the hopes of dating. I think this bespeaks a much-overlooked aspect of the site. The act of being anonymous offers a sort of thrill, almost similar to the thrill that is offered by the creation of an avatar in second life or World of Warcraft. You are able to exist separate from your actual self, and through this, you create persona that you are inherently embarrassed about, because it IS NOT YOU.

b) Secondly, I find it interesting that they reasonably expect people to actually meet in real life. Surely a virtual relationship offers little but visual images, simulacra if you will, a copy of the real you. Perhaps I’m a die hard romantic, but what ever happened to love at first sight?

c) Interestingly, the animosity that we are supposed to have does not exist. I find in New Zealand that everyone knows someone who knows someone, who knows someone’s brother, who dated his flatmate (ad infinitum). Our Six degrees of separation seems to be all but measly two (portrayed expertly by 2 degrees mobile advertising campaign, I must admit).

We are inherently copying ourselves continually online, only really offering representations of ourselves. Surely this means that love at first sight online is never truly achievable. Love at first simulacra really doesn’t have the same ring now does it?

Wheres my Reality?

2009-10-16T23:41:00.001+13:00

Watching a recent Star Wars re-run, I wondered what had happened to holograms and virtual reality. I seriously thought by now that everyone would be running around in an imaginary computer generated world a la The Matrix, and people would be talking on videophones. It seems that an answer has sort f arrived, in the form Augmented Reality. It seems that soon the free congenial space that we are so accustomed will be over taken by an overlaying of information, through either the visual capturing capabilities of iphones or the inclusion of technology into our eyewear, and even so far as our contact lenses. Wired magazine ran a great article here, offering to us what the future is supposedly going to be like. The inclusion of information directly fed to us baffles me, but it also made me realize that we actually live in a society that does this already. Feeling pretty cybernetic already, with my iPod, mobile phone, I worry that if covering our eyes in Augmented Reality is going to do more harm than good.

Advertising stands to gain huge amounts from this. I can’t help but think about what Negroponte talks about with bits and bites, the ability to replicate information seamlessly and endlessly, without any degradation in quality form the source. The contact lenses that are spoken about in the above article have tiny little LED’s (light emitting diodes, for you luddites) that can project the most minuscule of images, allowing you and only you to see it. I find it interesting stuff, as the possibilities are endless. In an already media saturated world, does this offer another encroachment on our liberties, a visual space that was once allowed for us and us only to see? I could see some fun to be had though: imagine playing a game in real life, with images overlayed, perhaps like this. Perhaps the Matrix doesn’t exist, but Augmented Reality pretty much comes close.

Music sharing : crime?

2009-10-16T23:40:00.002+13:00

Ok, Im sure that everyone who has MP3 players, or iPods if you prefer, or at least a computer at home would have committed a 'crime' of music sharing or downloading music illegally from the web or file-sharing services, more than few times already for most of us and for some of us, it could be a part of the daily routine to discover new music and hunt for it on the internet to download it. Now, this music sharing and illegal downloads are, as it reads, illegal. Yar Majid, supports this statement by saying that downloading music without paying for it is clealry a 'crime'.

Despite the truth that we're committing this crime on a quite regular basis, (assuming that we are all music-loving students under extreme financial burden of being a full time student? Maybe it's a lame excuse but well.) there are clearly a distinctive advantage for both the music producers and listeners, because most of the listeners would be more than happy to spend thier money on the next albums coming out, from this certain band/artist if they really liked it, after listening to thier song that he/she downloaded from the internet. This initially builds on a fan base, even though its being done illegally. I don't know and sure about other people but I always tend to listen to few songs at least, but preferbly whole album, before i decided to buy the physical album. There are always new artists I discover (?) and happy to pay the price for the music they provide. This could just an excuse of being a music pirate but in this technocultural society, such process has become more than common for most of the young generation.

Suicide Girls: an observation.

2009-10-16T23:39:00.001+13:00

I don’t know why I do it to myself. Having already been subjected to The Devil Wears Prada, I find myself being convinced to sit through Sex and The City: The Movie. Fixed in my anti-capitalist ways, I find both movies offer little more than a representation of conspicuous consumption.

I digress. I also dislike the movies on another level: I find that the pseudo-feminist attitudes that both movies seem portray as rather harrowing. Women are meant to feel liberated that they can now own their own pay check, buy shoes and find their own Mr Big. This is where I think Suicide Girls offer an interesting paradigm, and I think that both Sex and the City and suicide girls can offer an interesting link.

Suicide girls attempt to be subversive, that is they attempt to represent the anti-Carrie, the anti-Dress wearing, shoe loving urbanite. However I come into conflict as I feel that they both are running still on capitalist modes of consumerism. They both are attempting to procure a pay check, and they both are subjectifying themselves for an audience, be it Mr Big or Mr Goth.

I find it funny that the models on Suicide Girls are offering an alternative to the Carries of the world: that is they are attempting to portray themselves as subjects. They are subjectified objects, which are attempting to draw the Mulveyian Gaze. Who’s more feminist? Carrie or Suicide girls? I would have to argue that perhaps Carrie is, as atleast she doesn’t need to take her clothes of to exist within a capitalist society.

Both, I guess, offer a faux-feminist point of view. They exist to draw the male gaze, something that I feel subjectifies and lowers women to a subordinate role. It seems ironic that Suicide Girls, a reactionary group of women that attempt to be the ‘Anti-Carries’, actually end up being more subjectified than their ‘frenemy’.

Beyond the profile picture : Identity fabrications

2009-10-16T23:07:00.004+13:00

People are seems to be more familiar these days, with the reconstruction of their virtual identity online and they seemed to be quite comfortable with such process. Rather, people put vast amount of energy and time, in effort of fabricating thier 'self' to look better. Even if this process involves a little exaggeration on the fabrification of a virtual 'self', people seems not to think about it too much.

Since the identity fabrication has become a common thing for people to act on without thinking too much about it, it will be obviously difficult to wholly trust a stranger's identity as it appears on the internet. For example, on the social network sites like MySpace, this identity fabrication
could said to be quite commonly found, like Luke said in the lecture about this person who wouldnt let the other person know of her real age on this dating website, people are increasingly experimenting with their identities. The person who did not want to reveal her real age, perhaps with some other 'real' information about her 'real' identity, have had a bad experience of someone who lied about his/her identity and personality - which is a direct result of this identity experiment phenomenon.

Such process brings concerns for people living in this internet age, as our identities are gradually becoming somewhat 'constructed', not natural. People tend to show some doubt when it comes to relationships, perhaps its something that being online and digitalized brings along with the benefits of it.

"hey bro :P"

2009-10-16T23:05:00.003+13:00

If the title of this blog is a text message, most people would find it pretty weird. How can we not? The "bro" indicates a fraternal bond, where as the tongue-poking emocon is a sign of a feminine playfulness. Combination of the two seems odd of not out right weird.

Being an experienced txter, I cannot help but to agree with Lin Proitz's theory that men and women text differently, different with the way we approach texting to the same sex, different yet again when we text to the opposite sex. It seems to be a custom for men in the western society to restrict their emotions to a minimum when dealing with each other, even a friendly handshake can be shortened to a simple head nod. Texting therefore is also affected by such phenomenon. Short and sweet, down to the point, as little emotion as possible.

When a member of the opposite sex is involved however, the restriction is broken. Just as most men would feel comfortable giving a hug to a female friend, yet the same gesture is rarely made to a male friend. Technically, women are more emotive creatures, therefore when dealing with them, men feel they need to change their behaviour to adapt to those of the women's. Also when it comes to the opposite sex, attraction is always a factor. Even the most pure of friendships between men and women is often founded on attraction. Therefore, it is understandable that when men starts to text with women, their language become feminised, more emotional, perhaps little emocons such as the tongue-poking or smile :) would start to pop up, not only to show the man's friendliness and willingness to break out of his shell for the girl, but also suggest that who knows what changes might take place to their "friendship" down the road. From my personal experience, I can confidently agree with Proitz's theory.

Friendship and Social Networking

2009-10-16T22:53:00.002+13:00

Facebook, Bebo and MySpace are just a few popular social network sites that I am sure we have all at some point in our lives (me included) have used. I have always enjoyed logging on and using such sites. When I was in high school, my favourite social network sites were definitely Bebo. I liked how I could personalise my page with funky and loud ‘skins’ or backgrounds, I could add music to my profile, as well as being able communicate with friends and family. However, now I find that I much prefer Facebook despite the fact that this social network site essentially does exactly the same thing as Bebo. I have come to appreciate Facebook’s simplistic yet conservative set up and aesthetics which gives a very mature feel to the site. Furthermore, I enjoy how I can easily see how my friends and family are doing by looking at status updates, pictures, notes and videos on my homepage.

Social network sites are wonderful as they allow its users to connect with friends and family on a global scale. Social network sites provide users with means to further communicate and connect by enabling users to view and upload pictures, send comments, view posts and status updates as well as enabling users to converse with one another through instant messaging. Social network sites also allows users to add people with whom they share strong ties like best friends and family as well as allowing users to add and connect with those who they share weaker ties with such as acquaintances and work colleagues.

I have always viewed social network sites as fun and exciting way to communicate with friends and family. However, although my view is unlikely to change, I did find Judith Donath’s piece entitled Signals in Social Supernets a very interesting and thought provoking read. As Donath (2008), correctly pointed out, “Whether face-to-face or online much of what people want to know about other people is not directly observable.” Thus we rely on signals such as body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, consumption patterns, posts and comments that are exchanged on profiles to ‘read’ people and make judgements about others. Donath (2008) argues that because “People want to make the best possible impressions, to appear important, creative, and popular,” this can lead to deception. In a normal social context with friends the likelihood of deception is very low; however Donath argues that online representations do not always coincide with offline identities. I would definitely agree with this statement to a degree. Many people, including myself are guilty of telling little white lies or slightly exaggerating about ones self on their profile to make themselves sound a little better. For example in your interests one might say they enjoy cooking when in actual fact, they don’t actually cook that often but do watch cooking shows on television regularly. In this regard I can see where Donath is coming from.

I also found Donath’s comment regarding friending on social networking interesting when she said social network sites create “Supernets” that enable people to maintain more ties than possible without the invention of digital media and social network sites. In her essay, Donath, J. quotes Robert Dunbar (1996), a British anthropologist who claims that “The figure of 150 seems to represent the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship.” Both Donath and Dunbar appear to agree that social networks do not enhance friendships but rather weaken them. Their argument is that instead of users establishing meaningful relationships with close friends and using social network sites as a means to enhance the relationship, many users of social networking sites add many acquaintances with which they have little or no association. Both theorists question if “Social Network sites will shift people’s social world from one focussed on a few important relationships to one consisting of an immense number of weak relationships?” I can clearly see their view point as many of my friends on Facebook have over 500 friends. This would definitely make one question how many of those people they actually have strong ties with. Furthermore, in some cases, the quantity of friends is often used as a way to display popularity which inevitably has taken over the quality of friendships.

Alternatively, I would argue that social networks can actually help to strengthen friendships as they offer a way to daily see how our friends and especially acquaintances are doing if we haven’t had the opportunity to see or speak to them. Which ever way you choose to look at it, is ultimately up to us to decide how we use such sites.

References

Donath, J. (2008). Signals in Social Supernets. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 13, p231-251. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00394.x

Dunbar, R.I.M (1996). Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Written by Jessica Kadarmia

UGC creating identity

2009-10-16T22:33:00.000+13:00

For my final blog I wanted to look back on some of the things throughout the course. From gender issues through technobodies, issues of trust, social supernets, ‘indymedia’, privacy problems and piracy, there is one theme that seems to be a commonality: Identity. And for me, I think that has the most interesting and complex issues that surround the internet. Perhaps not all, but certainly a vast majority of internet use is done for purposes of identification, but at one point in the readings I found myself doubting the very concept of identity. Why? Helen Kennedy’s article Beyond anonymity had me unsure whether maintaining identity in such a fragmented way was possible. It wasn’t until I realised that identity is not fragmented, but the representation of the whole identity as mediated through the technology of internet, at this stage, has to be. It’s still developing, and quite possibly, social networking websites may help to bridge the gaps between the disunited identities of the self.
In the final reading by Jose Van Dijck, his ideas about the movement into a more commercialised arena of user generated content may signify a new challenge for the unified online identity, but similarly, it could present a new opportunity for it. Many think that commerce changes user generated content, and it most certainly does, however money has always made the internet world go around, quite literally. And commerce is undoubtedly a significant part of identity. As is just about everything.

you wouldn't steal a bag...

2009-10-16T22:29:00.004+13:00

Sure, downloading music, movies and other forms of copyrighted media for free is technically the same as stealing, but it's interesting why most people - everyday consumers, don't feel this way. We know we're getting something for free when we should be paying for it, but due to the lack of an obvious victim and the kind sentiments associated with "sharing", most people feel it's okay to turn a blind eye to such acts. As Yar described in his essay, "laws which lose thier gounding in social sentiments are liable to atrophy" which is perhaps why the present copyright laws are having a hard time controlling the free download phenomenon.

A bag is to carry items in, if it's not ours, you simply cannot put items inside. We can walk past the same window display everyday and stare at the same bag for hours and hours, but we can never use it for the purpose it was designed for. It can never be ours unless we pay for it or steal it. Stealing a bag is taking away an actual tangible item, whether from a store or from another person, the absence of an once existed bag marks the clear indiction that something is lost, a person or a store has suffered due to their loss. Most of us, hopefully, would feel the guilt associated with stealing such items. Online resources however, are intangible goods. Music is designed to be heard. It plays everywhere, on the radio, in record stores, on the street, from people's car stereos. Listening to it on the radio and listening to it on a CD differs in quality, but listening is still listening. Once we've heard it, we've heard it. We know the tune, maybe the lyrics, we can hum to it, we've enjoyed it. No paying is necessary. When I buy a CD, I can invite my friends to come over and listen to it. If I want, I can invite them everyday, then they would have the same previleges as me with regards to the CD. They will never need to buy it. Everyone would agree that my act of kindness as a friend cannot be considered a crime. Now, instead of inviting my friends over, to save the time and effort, I put the songs on the internet for them to download instead, they're enjoying the same previleges as before, but now it's considered illegal? Downloading something also differs from stealing in the sense that nothing is actually lost, you've simply made another copy of it, the original still exists. No one would turn around and say: "Who stole my mp3 file that I uploaded on the net? My mum bought me that mp3 for my birthday, can't believe someone stole it!" No such sentence will ever be uttered. People rip and upload media online to share, most of the time, most of the time for free, the uploader gains nothing from such actions, but rather it's an act of kindness to share what they believe should be watched or heard by other people. The vagueness in which my sharing became stealing is one that troubles most internet users, which is perhaps why many of us choose to ignore it. It seems necessary for the copyright laws at present to be revised to reflect the reality of this situation.

Men and SMS - Feminized self

2009-10-16T22:19:00.003+13:00

Friday,July 31,2009.

The case of male teenagers' feminization when they're using thier cell phones to text message
was rather interesting, as I looked back at myself and my texting habits - they totally differed
as who were at the receiving end of my text messages! As Proitz claimed in his observation that male texters tend to use more shorter and importantly, functional types of texts - significantly
without any unneccesary 'emoticons' to make it look more fancy. After looking at some of my
mate's text messages they send to me and to the other people as well (all male friends by the way), the majority of them tend to use shorter abbrevations of words and sometimes
over-shortend words that I couldnt even understand what on earth he meant.
To list some examples, one day after my lecture I received a txt message from my mate saying : "WU??". It wasnt that hard to figure out that it means "Where are you?", shortend to the first word of the sentence to save some bother. However, the following txt I got from him was
rather puzzling this time, as it read: "PG?" What could PG possibly stand for?
He later called me and said he wanted to ask me the question :
"Pool game?"

When it comes to exchaning texts with girls, it's a totally different story.
I, for example, looking at the sentbox, tend to use a full sentence rather than extreme
abbreviations like "WU?" , but rather it was "Where are you at the moment? :)" instead.
The use of emoticon also is much more frequent when exchaing texts with girls.
It seems that when communicating with same sex, young male adults tend to express
thier 'natural' masuline side of thier personality but when in communication with opposite sex,
it appears that male texters tend to emphasize the feminine side of thier personality
in order to appear more 'understanding' of the female personality.

The next step in new interactive media-Reservoir Hills

2009-10-16T21:29:00.000+13:00

A new television series, Reservoir Hills, is being advertised as New Zealand’s first interactive drama. Audience interaction is pumped up to the next level as audiences are able to actually interact with the characters on the television series and influence the characters’ actions.

This television series and what it sets out to do seem to be an extension of Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding theory. Instead of having traditional roles of maker=encoder and consumer=decoder, the consumer is able to exercise both powers of encoding and decoding. The audiences decode meanings of the actual television show, then begin the process of encoding as they text the main character Beth about what she should do. Although the producers of the show decide which text/idea to use for the next episode, audiences have more say in the plot of the story than ever before. Apart from texting, the show further invites audience participation with Beth’s Bebo. The production of a fictional character’s social networking profile (on a social networking site that is familiar to most, if not all, New Zealanders) is new and quite innovative because the character seems more “real.” This faked realness of the character has potential to close the gap of intimacy between the viewers and the show because Beth’s Bebo is no different from any other teenager, and sets itself apart from the Reservoir Hill’s homepage because it does not advertise the show. On the Bebo site, the main character actually writes blog posts and posts vlogs, and fans are able to “friend” her and comment on her posts.

Reservoir Hills has yet to be broadcast so no final word can be given on its effectiveness or the effects it will have on media. However, it does seem adequate to conclude that Reservoir Hills is a prime example of the fusion between traditional and new media.

copy right and the internet

2009-10-16T21:12:00.002+13:00

After years and years of buying over priced cds, at the ripe age of 13 i discovered the wonderful thing of downloading for free! Although it had crossed my mind several times that it is indeed stealing I resolved my qualms by telling myself about all the times I had to spend my hard earned allowance on cds. Imagine my horror almost 9 years later to learn that they are trying to take away this wonderful thing called "stealing songs online"!! However, after the class it really got me thinking. If I was a musician or even just applying it to write an essay and someone copied all my hard work I would be pretty pissed too! While I understand the need for copyright, I also feel that the proposed law was indeed outrageous. I mean cutting off someones Internet access is a little extreme is it not? Imagine being my parents who log on to the Internet only to be found its been cut off because their 13 year decided to download a few songs!

Another thing I had been pondering, there is no such thing as privacy anymore with things such as facebook or bebo or twitter. Every ones thoughts and ideas are put out to the world for anyone to see, and that includes potential employers. Everyone has put everything out for the whole world to see and there is literally no escape! Perhaps the only way to counter this is to forgo the internet completley? I doubt it, its too important for todays society. I suppose its just the wise advice of there is someone always watching, so dont put something out there that you would not want to come back to you.

CCTV: What Privacy?

2009-10-16T21:11:00.003+13:00

I find the subject of surveillance, in particular CCTV, really interesting because in my opinion, the notion of 'privacy' is quite fluid at this point in history. I lived in London for 3 years, and the CCTV is really obvious - for example, in Picadilly Circus you can look upwards and on the top of these big poles (as well as on traffic lights and buildings) there are cameras pointing down in every direction, and that's just one intersection in the whole of the city. So it was with great interest that I found this blog (http://www.c-p-p.co.uk/blog/get-paid-to-watch-cctv-on-the-internet.html) dated 7 October 2009 which states that while London has 4.2 million CCTV cameras, only 1 in 1000 are being monitored. It goes on to say that there is a new scheme which will actually pay money to regular citizens in order for them to monitor up to 4 cameras a day, I am guessing from their own homes, over the internet. The money paid is calculated using a points system by which people get 1 point for every suspected crime reported, and 3 points for every actual crime reported. Like any good points system (!), there are points deducted for wrong 'guesses'.

This. Is. Unbelievable.

Apart from the myriad of obvious ways that this scheme can be misused (people harassing people they don't like, people reporting petty nuisances which don't constitute as 'crime', etc.), there is a deeper issue here. That issue is that the boundary between public and private is being increasingly blurred due to technology, and the fact that ordinary citizens can now act as voyeuristic crime-busters is taking this blurring a little too far. In his book 'Surveillance Society: Monitoring Everyday Life', David Lyon (2001, 22) poses the question "Who... has access to the images and for what purposes? Can individuals control or limit the uses of the data derived from their behaviours?" However, in the face of this new citizen monitoring technology, the question is not just if people can limit / reduce / control the data that is collected about them, but also if people can collect / influence / store the data collected of other people.

My personal opinion is that society is not psychologically equipped to monitor each other using advanced technology such as this, especially when we live in a (Western) capitalist society which revolves around money. The fact that we are monitored by CCTV, and we cannot control the data, is scary. The fact that due to new technology we can monitor each other is even scarier. The prospect of citizens monitoring each other for financial gain is like a disaster waiting to happen.

What are you writing?

2009-10-16T20:54:00.000+13:00

The reality is the internet, which frets the need to always be connected and always be online. The world online is now global; we can access anything at the touch of our fingertips. The global sphere has grown rapidly since the rise if the internet and there is no doubt that it will continue to rise. We are under surveillance in everything we do. Even walking down the street and doing our daily tasks, we are being watched on CCTV.

The internet is a domain where everything we do is not forgotten. Barack Obama even made a comment that if people had aspirations of becoming the president of the United States that they should be careful of what they write on social networks such as Facebook. Even if you think you have deleted your social networking page, you haven’t. Reality bites team… everything you do is noted down and can be retrieved at a later date. Even applying for a job, the employers are able to write your name in a google search engine and find some of the information that you would otherwise think of as private.

So be careful what you are saying on facebook it may come back to bite you in the bum.

Cyborg whaaaat?

2009-10-16T20:52:00.000+13:00

A life without technology would be rather difficult, I would know. I think I am becoming a cyborg and its not hard to either. I recently had some trouble with Vodafone some time ago changing from on account to prepay… I had successfully changed but now was unable to text. I was infuriated by the fact that I was now unable to contact anyone on my own free will. It was hell, I felt like the epitome of Donna Haraways analogy of a Cyborg, and a cyborg does not need to be someone that potentially has a prosthetic limb or out of Hollywood stereotypes of a cyborg such as Terminator, Bionic Woman or Robocop. A cyborg could merely be someone that is so reliant on technology itself that it has metaphorically become another appendage on the human body. A cell phone is a prime example as the fingers are constantly dialling the next call or text. We are always connected, always online. Without a cell phone there is no one to constantly talk to or contact, you could potentially become out of the loop. A cell phone provides a lot of functions in this day and age, you can take photographs, receive emails, cruise the internet and listen to music. Becoming a cyborg has been a very fluid task that has not taken that much thought, it has almost come on quite naturally. There has been no definitive change in the body as technology has become a vital part to daily life. Each morning some of us rely on our cell phones to wake us up, or to remind us of things not to forget, we use electricity without even thinking that we are using it, we check our emails daily and just have a pure reliance on technology. We are cyborgs… face it people.

The cultural perspective: recipients versus participants

2009-10-16T20:34:00.002+13:00

Henry Jenkins argues that with the emergence of Web 2.0 applications, a definite paradigm shift in the way media content is produced and circulated: " audiences, empowered by these new technologies, occupying a space at the intersection between oldure and new media, are demanding the right to participate within the culture." With many websites such as Youtube or MySpace, where "audiences" are able to freely access the site, and choose to either be a recipient or they can upload videos or post blogs and become a participants. Of course, with everything, there are two sides to the argument, some people may think of it as a good thing, and some people may not. On the positive note, the ability to freely participate in the "new media world" has helped and created many benefits and opportunities for some people. Take Youtube for example, there have been dozens of people who were able to find fame through Youtube, simply by uploading their special talents onto the website, and watch and wait as their hit ratings increase higher and higher into the hundreds of thousands, if not, millions. I myself, have watched Charice, a 14 year old talented singer from the Phillipines rise to fame through Youtube. Many of her videos were uploaded by others who were also amazed by her talent, and as the hit ratings on her videos grew higher and higher by the day, she was soon discovered by 'Oprah' who then invited Charice to her show, which completely changed her life. So this is just one of many examples of how this "new media" may benefit those who really deserves a chance. Once a video is uploaded onto Youtube, there are no limitations to who or where someone can view it. It has the ability to open many doors far and wide for those who are truely talented or desperately needs help. However on a negative note, many professional people in the media industry may feel frustrated and violated by the fact that any average Joe out there, are now able to become "produsers" and distribute short films, news articles, music etc. This then leads to the issue of piracy, which has declined the film and music industry in particular, millions and millions of dollars in revenue. Take China for example, even in such a conservative country, a University student were still able to cut, mix and edit a famous movie, produced by a famous director who invested over 3 billion dollars in, and in the end gain more viewership and publicity through his hilarious short film than the actual film did. So with the development of every new technology, people are always going to have mixed feeling and opinions about it, but it never stops technology from developing and continue to evolve, in the end, people just learn to adapt to it, and welcomes the positives and the negatives and what ever else it may bring in the future.

Advances in technology and new media are ever-increasingly causing the domains of the professional and the consumer to become blurred

2009-10-16T19:33:00.001+13:00

Advances in technology and new media are ever-increasingly causing the domains of the professional and the consumer to become blurred. This blurring can be seen in both a positive and negative light. On one hand this technology is providing a voice for many who previously may not have had one, but on the other hand it is putting pressure on professional industries.

Technology such as domestically available video equipment is putting media construction into the hands of non-professionals. The potential for individuals who have interesting things to say but might not have access to professional resources to produce something, has increased. This has allowed voices from a broader spectrum of society to be heard and it can potentially bring about the popularity of good ideas rather than popularity due to mass marketing.

The negative side of this of this is that professional industries and their skill base are at risk. The work of professional film makers, journalists, authors, musicians etc. is being supplemented, re-edited, re-distributed and sometimes replaced by the work of non-professionals or prosumers, who are often not as specialised or trained as professionals. Therefore technology and new media can be seen to be putting professional skills at risk.

Although the overall effect that prosumers are having on cultural production is a positive one, the repercussions on the professional industries may ultimately undermine these advancements. The skills that are required and developed within professional industries may be partially or entirely lost.

User Content. True or False?

2009-10-16T19:12:00.003+13:00

With the rise of web 2.0 there is an increase of user generated content. Users can upload new stories to newspaper websites and also upload their own recordings to television network websites. This leads users to believe they can have a creative input into the news and are contributing positively to the mass media. However this too could be seen as a ploy by the media agencies to lead the public into a false sense of proximity in that they believe they are contributing but the media agencies may be gaining stories for free or gaining higher audience numbers. It could also be contested whether or now these stories and videos submitted by 'users' and the public actually get used by the media agencies. There may be heavy filtering of the stories and selective angles and stories used by the agencies which may deconstruct the original position of the publisher. YouTube is a website which requires a high amount of user generated content. As the reader suggests "YouTube's case perfectly illustrates the need for a more comprehensive approach to user agency" (Van Dijick, 2009). This shows that although YouTube has many links to large corporates and movie companies many users extract these videos and create their own alternate video 'mashups' and video responses creating another dimension to critical debate. However in a similar way to which media agencies filter stories and video YouTube can also remove videos and corporations and lobby to take videos off the site too. One must question then where lays the real middle ground for a true dimension for User generated content?

Digital public sphere: Unity and democracy in the digital realm

2009-10-16T18:55:00.000+13:00

Jurgen habermas outlines the realm of ‘public sphere’ as a space in which members of the public can discuss and express their own opinions and ideas without any limitations or discrimination. The existence of public spheres are increasing throughout the society. Some examples include television, such as talk shows, and the radio. In particular, the popularity and the existence of public spheres in the digital realm is on a rise. Not only does public spheres allow us to express our opinions in the field of social issues, but they also provide a chance for democratic expression with regards to political issues.

The importance of freedom of speech and democratic expression in a country of democratic governing cannot be stressed enough. In reality, there are very few chances for the memebers of the public to express their thoughts and ideas. I personally believe that digital media provides the perfect route in breaching this barrier associated with the opportunity of self expression. Internet is not only easy to use, but it is also becoming more and more accessible. This allows people to express themselves without the restriction of wealth, ethnicity or gender.

On the other hand, there are the issues of censorship and ‘gatekeeping’ in the realm of public spheres. Although public spheres allow the freedom of speech, there will always be people that ‘over express’ their opinions to a state where it may offend and hurt other people. Therfore, it is important that there are ‘gatekeepers’ (such as the managers of a specific site)that controls the problems associated with this problem.

Resultantly, I believe that the existence of public spheres in the digital realm has a lot of positive aspects with regards to democratic expression and interaction. Nonetheless, it is important that the way in which we express ourselves do not offend or hurt others in any way and keep to what is deemed ‘moral’ by the majority.

Sexuality and intimacy: ideas of personal presentation and social interaction

2009-10-16T18:53:00.001+13:00

Technology is being used in various ways which was not present in past years. Using technology involves issues around risk taking and surfaces emotions of anxiety among many users. A great deal of this revolves around the issues of security and trust. Doctor Goode presented a lecture on ‘sexuality and intimacy online’ where it had a mention about Bauman and his argument addressing the idea of separation between freedom and security. In reference to this argument, we can make out an idea of how people are restricted in freedom due to security matters. Through the media online, we are often faced with various people whom we’ve never met before. As a result, we are required to trust and protect our own security when dealing with social interactions. This leads to restrictions of freedom in doing certain activities due to this matter of security.

Furthermore, many users use technology as a means of expressing personal emotions, thus sharing love and romance. In order to attract others, we often find ourselves presenting ourselves in a unique way, yet not too different that it will put other people off. Everyone has their own unique way of presenting themselves using their own unique attractive features. For example, havent we all taken photos in ways that will make us most attractive? The problem with certain people is that they use photoshop in order to improve their appearances. This partially breaches the notion of ‘trust’ as it is not a genuine presentation of themselves. Furthermore, people are beginning to be more and more aware such different techniques that people use. As a result, people find it more and more difficult to trust and share intimacy judging but what they are presented with in the digital realm.

The idea of love and romance online can be very advantageous to us. To maintain this relationship, it will be crucial that all users are honest and make efforts to preserve the notion of ‘trust’ among the users.

UGC:veil of capitalism?

2009-10-16T18:51:00.001+13:00

The powerful impact of Web2.0 can not be explained in just few sentences. However, it is worth noting that there is one strong impact, or in another word it is a popular term called User Generated Content(UGC). In the digital space, UGC makes difference in people’s lives. All the doubts, emotions and knowledge can post in online environment. Web2.0 is recognised as new version of World Wide Web. It has potential to be people’s voices. Blogs, social networks and wikis are all captivating parts of Web2.0. Moreover, they are essential platforms for generating individual concerns about public and private issues.

Trebor Scholz warned that unbridled enthusiasm for user-generated content may mask an undercurrent of capitalist exploitation. I’d like to also add that, on the one hand UGC boost user’s creativity. On the other hand, business owners desire to gain more public attention. The main goal for having UGC is still about financial success.For instance, New's cooperation owner Rupert Murdoch focus on financial success at World Media Summit this year. He states that internet search engine should pay for news.

However, in Dijck’s reading, a different economics perspective is revealed. Dijck believes that business interest has apparently shifted away from consuming activities and gravitated towards producing activities, giving users more power over content because they add business value. The veil of capitalism in this context seems controversial, however, I assume public and business owner have different purposes. It is a simple chain effect: one produces, one consumes, one gets benefits.

Identity ‘authenticity’ on Facebook

2009-10-16T18:34:00.002+13:00

I think that a person’s online identity on social networking sites is constructed through a number of factors, including ‘authenticity’. Unlike Sherry Turkle’s idea of a fluid, uncontained identity, I believe that people still aim to create and portray themselves as a complete identity, although aspects of that identity can change and be contradictory. Taking Goffman’s idea that a major part of identity is performance for others; it makes sense that in order to make others believe the identity that we are performing, we create a sense of ‘authenticity’ in our performance.

For example ‘authenticity’ is evident in Facebook, through aspects such as photographs, personal details, interests and the ability to give status updates. Photographs give a face to the online persona. It allows closer friends to identify the person online as the one that they know in the ‘real world’. It also allows ‘friends’ who may not know the online person, or not know the online person well, to feel like they know them better as they are given a visual access to activities the person does. Details a person gives on their page such as their birthday, employer, education and even current location can also add to their ‘authenticity’. ‘Groups’ or ‘pages’ that the person joins can give a sense of who they ‘really’ are, as instead of claiming that they have an interest in something, they are in a way acting on their ‘interest’ by joining up to the page or group. Finally a person can put across ‘authenticity’ by updating their status. For example a friend of mine is a dancer, and his status updates are often about dance.

I think that most of the time ‘authenticity’ is used to portray who the person feels the ‘really’ are, rather than to promote a ‘false’ self.

Femininity and Suicide Girls

2009-10-16T18:13:00.005+13:00

The reading for week 4 of this course Shoshana Magnet talked about about feminist sexualities and the internet in regards to the example of suicidegirls.com. Magnet discussed whether or not Suicide Girls have truly successfully achieved its goal in femininity. She pointed out the Suicide Girls is often lauded for being a site that focuses on both beauty and brains, where models on the site not only put up photographs but are also put through as feisty and intelligent in their participation in the site of posting and journaling. However I tend to have doubt in whether the site serves to do so as I went to have a look of suicidegirls.com myself. I tried out numerous random blogs and most of them did not really say much about the intellectual quality of the blogger, but just really casual posts about their lives, friends pets trips work and night outs. Even if something really brainy actually do come up, one thing is that site don’t use turnitin.com on their submission, so there’s really no way to tell if what they have posted up there is of their authentic words or just something they found and think is pretty cool so just copied.

Magnet also made emphasis on the gaze, citing Laura Mulvey’s well-known study which defined the “to-be-look-at-ness” as the way which women are simultaneously looked at and displayed in film and then coded for visual and erotic impact, from point-of-view of the masculine position. She pointed out that models of suicide girls the production of this gaze is by the object themselves, which the girls decide how revealing their photos will be, how the shots will be staged and which photos to be made available to the public.

However, after browsing through the suicide girls I argue that although these girls seem to take control of their image on the site and furthermore facilitate their empowerments, they should also be aware of the upbringing of their cultural backgrounds that have influenced them to portray themselves in the way they do. After some browsing on the site, I kind of felt that these girls were purposely portraying themselves in ways they felt contrary to the dominance of women in pornography on the internet of how Magnet described as ‘plastic, blonde, [and] fake-breasted’. The common ideologies of male dominance and masculine supremacy have made them to intentionally present themselves in female grotesques of extensive piercings, tattoos and odd coloured hair. In their attempts to femininity, they seem to forget the primary impact of their selections, is that of ones that opposite any of the common masculine ideologies, so ultimately I believe that the site belies to achieve its feminist potential.

The Commodified Story

2009-10-16T17:43:00.003+13:00

Yar is concerned with how anti-piracy campaigns naturalise capitalist notions of property. His concern is understandable, but I believe that he does not go far enough in his criticism. The issue that needs to be focused on is a more fundamental one: the entertainment industry’s construction of media texts as commodified objects.

This practice, I believe, is one reason why piracy is such a prominent issue today. For years media corporations have promoted the story and the media text not as amalgamations of knowledge and artistry influenced by wider society (which, Yar suggests, they are) but as discrete, desirable consumer objects. This approach worked for the companies for a long time, but now, with the widespread use of the internet, it has backfired. After all, if a person can get such a desirable object for free via piracy, why would they choose to pay for it?

While piracy’s economic impact is relatively minor now, it is likely that it will have more and more of an impact as larger numbers of people become familiar with technology, worldwide internet speeds increase and new distribution technologies like anonymous BitTorrent are released.

This could lead to a dearth of new media texts, as many of our society’s predominant cultural forms, such as the Hollywood blockbuster, are interlinked with the capitalist system. If the system struggled, so too would they. Indeed, there are types of new media, such as the modern 3D video game, that owe their very existence to the large budgets and technological infrastructure facilitated by the capitalist entertainment industry. After all, it would be prohibitively expensive to make a game like Crysis in a non-commercial context.

Our society needs to have a frank discussion about the commodification of stories and media texts now, as ignoring the issue now could lead to serious consequences in the future. We need to either come up with a new model of media distribution, complete with new media forms, or fundamentally alter the existing model to bring it into line with new technology.

The copyright of 21st century

2009-10-16T17:17:00.003+13:00

Since more and more people take the advantage of free downloading these days, whether the copyright should be more restricted in the 21^st century is a major discussion. It is relatively difficult to absolutely conclude that the change of the copyright will minimize the piracy issue for sure. Issues are likely minimized if the sections are set toward more criminal way that the action of piracy is seen as a sense of killing the intangible goods. It means that if people are downloading music albums for free, it is a way of “killing” the artists’ careers since publishing albums are their jobs and they gain profit from selling music albums. Thus, restricting copyrights might be a way of reducing the piracy issues if the rules are set into a more serious way.

On the other hand, the restricting of copyrights might not make any changes to the issues at all. Laws are set for the people who are obeying the rules. If those minor groups of people are already following the old copyright rules, they will be keeping following the rules no matter what. The rest of the society who are not the better citizens will keep doing what they have always been doing. There is the possibility that some people maybe more careful when they are downloading, but after all, they still have the intention to “steal” the artists’ works. Therefore, restricting copyrights might not seem to be working and artists’ may have the risk of losing the recognition of the public.

The conflicts in whether managing the copyright in a different way always exist. A better way of solving the problem is to set an amount or percentage of downloads. However, this may only seem to work in countries like New Zealand since we have the limitation on the Internet speed that downloading too much may reduce speeds. Large countries like China and USA do not face the problem of Internet speed limitation.

Participation

2009-10-16T16:37:00.002+13:00

With the shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 a new platform has arison which expands the possibilities of online participation. Users now have more 'agency' and ability to involve themselves in numerous online activities which have now become normalised such as blogging and peer to peer interaction. This change has affected everyone's involvement with the internet, and the ability to create, customise and share has allowed the boundaries for such activities to be endless.

A current example of online participation on the new platform exists in Orcon's new campaign to search for 8 Kiwi's to re-record Iggy Pop's classic song 'The Passenger' and do it entirely via Orcon Broadband. To watch the original version of 'The Passenger' click here.

What is great about this campaign is that New Zealanders through online participation are able to audition for a chance to be involved in the re-recording, and submit their auditions online via youtube video's. The angency of internet users allows participation in this competition, and the amount of auditions are testiment to how many active participant's of web 2.0 there are in New Zealand. To watch a selection of the auditions so far, click here, and remember its not to late to enter!

Identity in the digital age

2009-10-16T16:08:00.000+13:00

In a postmodern culture identity is not fixed process; instead it is continuously being shaped and reshaped because the more resources we have available to us, the more complex our identities become. Popular media and technology like television, film and the internet, act as resources that form cultural meanings and knowledge that helps us understand the world around us by allowing us to construct one’s identity. In an age where mass communication and mass consumption is prominent, theorist Jean Baudrillard uses the concepts of ‘hyperrealism’ and ‘simulation’ to argue how contemporary culture is one where the boundaries between the virtual or the ’unreal’ are becoming increasingly blurred with ‘reality’. In relation to Baudrillad’s concepts, we now experience ‘prepared’ realities; events that have been edited and reproduced to the extent we only experience things in simulation. Consider how social networking and matchmaking sites are examples of how people unintentionally misrepresent themselves when they attempt to create a profile of themselves that they feel ‘represents’ them, but in a selective way as they can pick and choose information that they feel is appropriate to reveal to ‘anonymous’ users. Or even consider the way ‘Vloggers’ on YouTube express or vent their emotions and opinions on any given topic or even to entertain a completely anonymous society of internet users across the globe. The development of new media or the prominence of emerging technologies such as the internet, has enabled more people to learn, debate or express their opinions in a more public and to a certain extent, an anonymous manner that reflects and forms their own identity.

Computer games as a representation of gender bias in the digital age

2009-10-16T16:02:00.000+13:00

In this weeks lecture, doctor Goode dealt with the various issues that are associated with gender in the digital age. The questions that we must ask ourselves are, ‘are both genders treated and distributed equally in new media?’ or, ‘is there a bias towards a particular gender?’ I personally believe that gender in the digital age is tilted towards the male gender, although there are certain changes in recent times. Took look for these evidences, we can look into the environment and the behaviour that is present within the realm of computer games and chat rooms.

Chat rooms and games in computers show a great deal of sexist activities. Before we look into great details about what occurs ‘within’ chat rooms and games, we can look into the genre of games and its target buyers to look for any patterns of gender bias. It is without a doubt that a lot of the games that are created in recent times are focused for the male gender. Games such as ‘grand theft auto,’ ‘battlefield’ and ‘need for speed’ are great example. A lot of people relate violence and action with the male gender more than the female gender. Females are seen to be more of a ‘calmer’ gender. In this I mean that, from an early age, females associate themselves more with creative and non violent activities than males, for example, cooking and playing with dolls. As a result, in games such as ‘starcraft,’ the male characters play a role as warriors and fighters, whereas the female characters are represented as medics. This shows a classical stereotypic orientation of ‘gender roles’ in digital media. On top of this, ‘playing computer games’ in itself is seen more as a ‘male activity.’ As a result, we can see that a lot of games are focused more on the male gender rather than the male gender.

Although this is true, there are efforts to reduce this gender bias in recent times. Evidence of this is shown by the creation of ‘Wii,’ which is an interactive game console that provides games that do not contain much violence or action that females can also enjoy. Another difference in recent times is the number of increasing female player. This is a good trend as it helps to reduce gender bias and stereotypic behaviour in games being ‘male oriented.’

I have used computer games as a representation of what occurs in the digital age. The notion of ‘gender in the digital age,’ can be seen in various perspectives and is constantly changing. I just hope that my personal opinions have allowed you to create your own personal ideas and opinions regarding this matter.

New Media and Self-Identity : Who are We?

2009-10-16T14:59:00.000+13:00

Regarding the lecture on ‘New Media and Self-Identity’ (17.08.09), I have recently realised as I was doing what I do everyday… Face Booking, (which I should mention is great, because it allows me to communicate with people, but not face to face), that a friend of mine posted a profile picture of herself which was completely edited and photo shopped. Her skin colour and even the colour of her eyes looked entirely different to what they do in real life. She laughed, (or ‘LOLED’), at a few comments people wrote about her photo, because they found it so immaculately photo shopped to the degree which it did not even look like her.

This brings in the view about the idea of the ‘idealised self’, which Luke Goode was talking about in the lecture. I guess that this is the way some people want to present themselves to others while communicating with them in the virtual world. In a way, we all want to look our best, and somehow the virtual community allows the individual to ‘appropriate’ him or herself.
However, this bring in the question of “what is identity” and whether or not there is an identity crisis in today’s modern and developing society, especially with the advanced technology, such as the Internet and other new media. Sherry Turkle also looks closely at this topic in her “Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet” (1995), (http://www.transparencynow.com/turkle.htm ), where she asks the questions about the idea of the ‘windowed self’. The link above is an article about Turkle’s theory; from this one is able to understand her view points made about the idea of self and identity, which is also linked to ‘Cyborg Identities.’ In this article it quotes “that simulation and "reality" will, one day, merge or become indistinguishable as a result of the progress of science and technology.” This can be related to how many people, whether on SNS sites or playing online virtual games, represent themselves in the offline world, or ‘appropriate’ themselves, as stated above in my example about Face Book.

Thus, I agree with Lee Siegal who states that there appears to be some kind of ‘culture narcissism’ or self obsession. This is apparent in today’s world of online communication, where one presents himself in the most idealised way for example, or perhaps updating his or her profile page constantly, seeking some sort of attention from those on the other screen. In the end, it appears that ‘New Media and Self-Identity’, is not just motivating people to fake being who they are, nor is it just allowing them to deceive others, but mostly it is allowing the individual to perform their identity.

COPY..RIGHT?

2009-10-16T14:45:00.003+13:00

The concept "you would never steal a handbag" differs from downloading/burning movies/music online because: there's a low risk of getting caught (narrowing down to who, what time...starting from which distributor) in comparison to - if someone actually stole somebody elses handbag - you'd see exactly who they were. So what about music? Through our tutorial discussion about pirated music... everyone's admitted to owning a mix CD of various artists tracks or songs - yup apparently thats Illegal. So... what about DJ's? PPNZ which stands for Phonographic Performance New Zealand is a non-profit company which issues out licenses for music which are played/performed in public areas. As retail stores and other locations such as Gym's, Bars and Nightclubs are responsible for obtaining a license for the music they play... I wondered if DJ's had to get permission for the music they not only play in a public place, but making the song sound different by adding differents artist beats, words and sounds. Anyway, I looked on the internet and found this Dj website http://djsauckland.co.nz/288577-Dj-Video-Pool.html which states that if any DJ has to obtain their own license to play music copied from music videos even Kareoke clips if they're not from the original music video clip!. It must cost alot to be a DJ?. I wonder if every DJ out there has a license, and who even bothers to check? What about DJ's who cater for private birthdays/weddings... because it is in a private space - is that still considered public to PPNZ?.

I also found an article/blog on the herald website which has various awesome points about why stores.. and even offices shouldnt need to pay a license to play music. http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2009/8/15/should-you-have-pay-licence-fee-play-music-office-or-shop/?c_id=466

Its interesting how big the issue of copyright spreads to today. Check out the PPNZ website to see how much copyright clearance is for various songs. http://www.ppnz.co.nz/copyrightclearances.asp

I personally think that the payment for a license to play music should be equal. It becomes a big controversy when each song has its own value - I wonder if we're gonna have to start paying to listen to our music at home...

graphic or sociol

2009-10-16T11:50:00.003+13:00

Video gaming has always been associated with masculinity as noted with most games such as Grand Theft Auto 3 and intensely graphic first person shooters such as F.e.a.r one and two. While females are noted as being more social and playing more interactive games such as the Sims online gaming has eliminated this differential line and made both important parts of today’s online gaming culture.

For many online mmorpg or rather mass multi online role playing game the social network is the most crucial part in making games such as world of warcraft or never winter nights enjoyable. Like online forum sites communities are created through people around the world in this online world where people view each other through their online avatars. Here communities and groups are created in the form of guilds, a group of different people under one banner helping each other. This is a significant factor in online gaming as players a required to play in groups in order to complete some of the harder quests that cannot be completed alone. It can be said that this is in strong contrast to many who say world of warcraft results in isolation and lose of social life and friends.
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26273141
The link above takes you to article about online friends and how they eventually meet up.

In games like world of warcraft the difference between gender influenced games has become somewhat removed as hack and slash, goal and quest orientated boys' gaming has become part of the social interactive, meeting new people aspect of girl gaming

From viewer to prosumer

2009-10-16T10:21:00.004+13:00

As discussed in the lecture the invent of web 2.0 marked a change in internet history not only for it's increased capabilities but rather for its new levels of interactivity. What was interesting to me was how few people actually interacted with these new interfaces after doing the reading with about 80% of web users not interacting but rather being passive viewers. What i find most interesting about this is that while the actual level of participation is so low advertisers have utilized this interactive medium in order to promote products and causes. Many of these are seen on community sites such as facebook. Advertisers are in an attempt to cash in on this new way of advertising, because lets face it what company would pass up the chance to advertise in new and exciting ways, to their potential consumer.

This new level of interactivity has had major effects on online advertising. While in the beginning like with most sites advertising was and is used to sponsor sites and cover running costs. Nowadays the level of advertising is determined by what site can support them. This new way of advertising has transformed many regular un interactive web viewers into prosumers. This is in my opinion a very significant turning point in advertising with this new level of interactivity and choice. Advertising has always been somewhat disconnected from individuals. It can be easily ignored while most may be of no interest to the viewers. billboards or television commercials are all on a viewing level.

Interactivity is a new way of interfacing with consumers. With interfacing puzzels and questions that you can interact with advertisments have found away to close the gap between consumer and product by allowing online interation with it closing the gap between advertiser and consumer in a way televion never could

The Online User

2009-10-16T09:28:00.007+13:00

The user who used to be the consumer is slowly becoming the "producer" of the manufacturing and the designing of products online. From social networking sites such as MySpace and Bebo, to informative sites such as Wikipedia and even to website that allow you to publish your own book, the interactive part of the Internet allows people all over the world to have some control over what they can produce online as the user.
The online user has never before had so many opportunities to create and express them self over the Internet. With online blogs and 'vlogs' a user has the ability to create what ever they want and how ever they want. By publishing your own material that you have created, you instantly become a 'prosumer'. Whether you are designing your own video or constructing your own blog website, you have a say in the production that goes into the product.

After understanding the concepts of the prosumer, professional consumer and produser, I remembered a programme I had watched on TV recently. Only a few days ago there was a countdown programme hosted by Webjunk.tv called the "40 Greatest Internet Superstars". This got me thinking of how far the Internet technology has developed. The top 40 videos presented on this programme showed how these ordinary people posting videos and, in some cases, making a fool of themselves have become so well known around the world that they are now famous. A perfect example of this is Gary Broslma. Webjunk.tv crowned Gary Brolsma the number one Internet superstar of 2009. So how did he become so famous? He simply posted up a "goofy" video of himself on Youtube (click here to see video).

This brings the thought of how far the Internet is going to develop. It could it be that in a few years time television will not be the main source for entertainment and information. With news being available online and the gradual availability of programmes being broadcasted online, take Reservoir Hill for example (what's the deal with that anyway?), plus all the entertainment people all over the world producer for the rest of us to see, people may find watching television "online" more convenient. Could this be the end to the popularity of television?

SNS: friend or foe?

2009-10-16T08:58:00.000+13:00

In week 6, Doctor Goode outlined the various ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ of online social networking. It is without a doubt that the use of online social networking has become a sense of ‘lifestyle’ among many users. What do I mean by this? To understand this idea of a ‘lifestyle,’ it is important to understand the different angles that people approach in regards to the use, and treatment of social networking sites (SNS). It will be logical and fair to say that the main purpose of social networking sites is for the purpose to ‘socialise’ and interact with other members of the community both at a local, and from an international scale. Thus, SNS provides a bridge, a way of linking people from all around the world by breaking the barrier concerning ‘accessibility’ of interaction. Not only this, SNS have also provided other positive contributions to many people’s lives. An article in the New Zealand Herald (issue of Tuesday, October 13, 2009), outlines how ‘Derryn Brenan’ turned to the net in order to recover her lost job due to the downfall of the market (economy) last year. She uses ‘facebook’ in order to interact with friends and find a route in order to interact with friends of her friends, and resultantly search for jobs and get job interviews through this social interaction. Thus the article is titled, “Facebook friends open door to new employment.” This example supports the idea of how SNS provides a bridge for people to interact with various people from around the world.

Here, we must come to a stop and ask ourselves, are SNS always friendly to us? Do they only affect us in positive ways? Surely there must be a hole in the system. After all, nothing in this world is perfect right? Referring back to the lecture that was given by doctor Goode, he outlined the ideas of ‘sexual predators,’ and ‘cyber bullying.’ Just like in many other cases (such as txting), a system that was created to advantage people is partly destroyed by people themselves. The term ‘sexual predators,’ is used mostly to describe men of the older generation who seek to fulfil their sexual desires through SNS. Although it is not common in recent times, due to the increased level of security in SNS regarding this matter, there are few cases where older men create a fake ‘identity’ in order to lure younger women for sexual pleasure. Although the idea of a ‘sexual predator’ seems a more powerful term, ‘cyber bullying’ has caused much more problems in our society. Unlike traditional bullying, cyber bullying has its advantages to the people who seek wrong doing. For example, the media allows people to use images and create ‘new identities’ in SNS. This means that people can put offensive picture of others on the net or even use their fake identities in order to bully others both verbally and mentally. Thus, it is creating a pathway that eases certain ‘wrong doers’ from doing what they are good at.

Now we must ask ourselves, are we treating this innovative system that was designed to advantage ourselves in various ways, the way we are supposed to treat them? Are SNS treating us the way they should be?

SNS: friend or foe? You decide.

Prosumer Propoganda

2009-10-16T01:09:00.002+13:00

Through out history, technology has brought interesting things which entails dealing with the new and challenging issues. At this age, consumers are able to produce themselves. No longer, one consumes only while few ones produce. The new age has the sufficient tools which enable everyone to become a producer; as a result, the number of ‘Prosumers’ are increasing too. It seems that people are embracing this movement. This could be for many reasons such as; there are more services and more products available to them. Nowadays, there are more producers and more consumers; everyone is increasing in number. In fact, the number of consumers has increased much more than before due to the globlisation and prosumers themselves being consumer at the same time; so this increase in activity has improved economics as a whole. There are many other benefits such as; the unity amongst people and nations in terms of social, political, economical, and environmental matters. Once again, as a whole, the technology has brought more benefits than expected. It seems everyone is winning apart from those few former producers/officials who had a sole power and control! Once again, it is put to the general public that the technology has brought many problems; that this new movement has many downsides such as; the creator/artist’s financial success and other dilemmas relating to copyright, privacy, authenticity, validity, and much more. However, I cannot buy into such negative propagandas when I see that those in control are really raising the ‘concerns’ and not the genuine people who are negatively being affected.

When it comes to the artists, the big traditional producers never cared about the artists’ rights. The producers cared about their own financial gains and success. Majority of singers make their money from their concerts. The technology has made it possible to increase the distribution of the artists’ songs which (regardless of paid or unpaid for) has made the artists concerts more successful. Even the big stars such as Micheal Jackson could mainly succeed from a crowded concert instead of getting money from the produced CDs! I can see how the traditional producers are unhappy but I cannot see how the artists are negatively impacted on and how general public is being harmed.

It is also the same with the new age journalism where the official journalism spreads the propagandas. If it was not because of the technology and the ability of the consumers to produce, no one knew about the recent election in Iran as the official producers did not produce and broadcast any news during the election. The prosumers broadcast about the public turmoil, and injustices.

Participations and the legal “grey”

2009-10-16T00:17:00.002+13:00

Researches explained that following the development of Information technology, the model of Prosumer sweep on the Internet. However, while the netizens’ Participations are encouraged by the “user agency”, such as Youtobe, litter attention has been paid on the legal rights of protecting the rights of these participants as well as the copyrights of their works.

In the traditional media industry, the work of creators/producers gets protect by the law. Yet, when it come to the Prosumer era, the situation become complicated. There are two particular situations I’d like to address here.

The first one is the works of re-creation. Although it’s easy for the netziens participate in the progress of creation or production, their resource in limited. As a result, these works are frequently appeared to be the re-creation among other products which are owned by commercial companies. Some of these works are defined as derivative works (eg. The Lord of Weep, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gsvJSH7nK0, the films made by the vedio game The Movie, The Sims ), which legally should would place control of the copyright with the owner of that original work. Yet, following the trend of global participations, should this law still remain the same? If it is, then the creations that participants have done in these re-create works would be completely out of the protection of law.

The second situation is the works of the collective of online anonyms. Such as a song or a novel which created by a non-register community group. Although these works were normally created by those web users who have no attentions to gain financial benefits, the fact is that some of these works were used for commercial purpose, while the original creators are not even informed.

It’s not fresh that technology step ahead the law. Yet, years has passed, few work has been done and the legal “grey” remains still. While Time magazine designated “You”, the millions of web users, as the Person of the Year, a question must be asked: who’s going to protect the legal rights of “You”.

Couple of interesting articles

2009-10-15T23:20:00.004+13:00

Here are a couple of articles that link into the course.
http://whatmatters.mckinseydigital.com/the_debate_zone/will-people-pay-for-content-online

http://whatmatters.mckinseydigital.com/internet/investigative-reporting-in-the-web-era

One that I would like to discuss is about whether people will pay to view online content. Brill argues that online subscriptions and paying for indepth information is a valid model while Shirky argues otherwise. According to Shirky, the internet is so vast that if 1 person subscribes, he is going to then share that information free of charge. To him a pay per view model will not work and if access is to be paid for, then it is also hindering the spread of knowledge. Brill places a lot of emphasis on the revenues brough in by advertising. Advertisers pay according the number of individuals they think they are reaching. Sites that do turn into pay per view, will have certain niche audiences that make it easier for advertisers to market their products. Or some advertisers may pull out as they are not reaching a demographic they first thought they were.

With the uncertainty of accurately recording audiences, putting complete trust in advertising revenues is not a very good idea. Advertisers are now cutting out the middlemen. With the new movie Paranormal activity (in America), the distributors didn't have much faith in the movie so ran it free of charge at a couple of university cinemas. Students that liked the movie acted as a marketing campaign as they then suggested it to their peers. Since there was not a big budget campaign used to make this film popular, they can gather more viewers who are more likely to view the movie based on the opinions of people they trust, rather than a hyped up marketing campaign. We all know the feeling of going to a big budget film thats had so much money pumped into it, but then fails to deliver. Brill places too much importance on advertising as revenue since advertisers are now relying on peer to peer communication in order for their products to be purchased by a large group of people.

There are many more points covered in the article which makes a good read. Enjoy!!

Trust in the new age of media

2009-10-15T22:45:00.002+13:00

I was reading Cosmopolitan the other day and one of the front cover headlines was "what counts as cheating now?". It seems that the ease with which one can keep in touch with ex boy friends or ex girl freinds is problematic in relationships in this day and age. If this issue has come into a popular magazine, it seems that it's not just academics who worry about the moral and ethical issues of privacy in a public domain. The editor of the magazine made the comment that her partner always asks if it's okay to accept or reject friends on facebook. She also mentioned that she had implicit trust in him but another reason she wasn't too worried was because he hardly ever went on facebook. There's an interesting paradox in what she says. Does she only trust him because facebook isn't a priority? Would she trust him less if facebook was one of his priorities? If we ever had disagreements with people it used to be out of sight, out of mind. With the dawn of social networking sites we are forced to know what these people are upto. On the facebook newsfeed we get a list of what people have been posting up and saying to each other. Many a time, people who we don't really care about are in touch with people we care about and we get a record of what this person has been upto. Usually boyfriends and girlfriends will know atleast one member in your friends circle. Even if you make the conscious effort to not add an ex, you are faced with what they are doing through another friend. This can be problematic to those select few who are very sensitive but in a way it is a huge infringement on privacy. We are not given the control to select what shows up on our news feed (And if we are sorry for my lack of knowledge). SecondLife takes all of these issues on a whole other level. Cheating is defined differently by different people. To some it maybe a physical engagement, while to others it maybe an emotional and mental engagement with no physical contact involved. I think Facebook and SecondLife make it easier for individuals to distance themselves from their reality if it all gets a bit much.They can escape to another reality and this may not always be a positive thing as other relationships may suffer.

2009-10-15T22:37:00.001+13:00

the issue of the importance of the internet in our lives was recently brought up in a tutorial. The vastness of the internet allows the potential to connect the whole of the globe in a way which enables complete connection of two of the five human senses regardless of distance, consequently The pros and cons included within an analysis of its worth in society are at least as far reaching as its abilities.

One effect of the internet is debilitating in the extreme to one facet of human existence being the humble newspaper. The future of traditional forms of media journalism hangs in the balance in the face of such threats as citizen journalism; distrust of the media and primarily the blogosphere, whose progress can be tracked trough analysis of the change in Jurgen Habberma’s Public sphere. The question is, who cares? Is this simply evolution of global and social media presentation? Some would argue that traditional forms of media have had a monopoly over a market that ordinary citizens lacked the capacity do furnish themselves.

The creation, recognition and classification of the Blogosphere possesses by its very nature the potential for evolution in the field of Habbermas Public Sphere. The ability for the common user to acknowledge a news item, or indeed any item of interest, is the beginning of their search. Links provide the option for said user to direct his attention instantly to relevant information. The instigation of citizen journalism comes in to effect here as not only can the views of experts and specialists able to be amalgamated, but the eye witness account of someone at the scene of a particular event or story can provide depth that a newspaper could never accumulate on one subject in one article. Through this, the ability for our searcher to gain a level of comprehension of the subject is potentially limitless. Whereas a newspaper delivers one reading of a story, Blog searching can provide many, allowing the reader the opportunity to make up their own mind while reducing speculation.

Newspapers are leading the forlorn hope of traditional media. The level of information provided by the internet has swamped that contained in newspapers. Subscriptions are in steep decline as readers have found convenience in the solitary pursuit of information palpable to them as an individual. Television journalism still remains convenient, but for how long? It once heralded the decline of print journalism and now it is possible that its life will be more short-lived. The death of traditional journalism will be reported by blog.

This is just one contentious argument for the analysis of internets benefit to society. There are many more. The future of this issue will be decided by the poles of human interaction and demand which in the long term remain unpredictable.

A Quantam Leap Too Far?

2009-10-15T22:03:00.002+13:00

As we near the end of the semester, looking back in reflection I would consider the Cyborg concepts to be some of the most interesting and thought provoking forms of new media. Kingsley Dennis in ‘Opening Pandora’s box’ offered useful insights into possible technological change that could impact society in the future. He examines wireless technology and its relationship with the biological human body. One Military developed product dubbed the Active Denial System was explained and illustrated; a wireless–to-body communication to be used as a crowd control mechanism using a beam of energy to inflict a burning sensation on persons at which it is aimed.

See a journalist test the Active Denial system here.

While this appears a positive development in terms of crowd control and subduing riots, it also brings concerns with respect to a democratic society. The phrase Dennis used to describe the effectiveness of wireless-to-body communication suggested; 'the mind has no firewall'. In this case, are we being subjected to breaches of privacy, and a reduction of rights within a democratic society? If our minds can be accessed or influenced (brainwashed) wirelessly, then depending on those utilising the technology, we will hardly exist in a state of democracy.

While such systems could be pivotal in the war against terrorism that Dennis argues as an information war, they also invite considerable criticism, especially among the western nations in which they would most likely be developed and adopted. As we have discussed throughout the semester, one reoccurring theme suggests that just because the technology is available, does not mean the majority will utilise it. In terms of the power of wireless-to-body communication, we can only hope that it is implemented under strict control, and contemporary society does not lose its democratic values.

Pirates, Argh.

2009-10-15T21:53:00.000+13:00

On the issue of downloading and copyright I found the concept of different moral standards for different types of artists quite interesting as I myself would never consider downloading any local content on principal. Perhaps it’s a matter of distance that changes the way we perceive downloading and copyright infringement. If the knowledge that your downloading effects the livelihood of someone in your own community then you are much less likely to partake in such an offence. I think that the same goes for those who are involved in particular types of media, e.g., Is a musician less likely to illegally download another artist’s work? But this is not a feeling shared by everyone. Many see file sharing in a much more liberal way. The only thing that can be agreed upon is that there must be changes made to the copyright law that properly fit the many different situations that arise in the world of file sharing. This is a difficult, if not impossible thing to be done as it means that different ideas about individual artistic, cultural and economic value conflict. These ideas differ for each individual, and is probably a major reason why there is such a massive gap between contemporary ideas about intellectual property and the laws that attempt to reflect this.

local artists vs mainstream artists

2009-10-15T18:35:00.000+13:00

The issue of copyright and intellectual property is definitely an interesting one, as it is so controversial and it is often possible to understand both sides of the equation. The lecture asked the question of whether pirating material from a mainstream artist is more ethically acceptable than pirating from a local or independent artist, and which to that I would agree yes, it is more ethically acceptable. Well in today’s society I believe it has become more ethically or more morally acceptable. This is because pirating in general has become somewhat a social norm, as so many are doing it, and as a result no one really questions it as criminal. Pirating from local artists however I would argue is less socially acceptable, as there is somewhat more social stigma about pirating from local artists than mainstream artists, although it of course still happens. This is a result of many factors, for example, in New Zealand there are many campaigns that campaign for New Zealanders not pirating local material and maintaining local industries, especially music.

This is consistent with Kohlberg’s theory, a theory which I have studied before in another paper. This theory argues, most adults judge morality based on social norms and expectations, such as law and order, rather than true innate moral reasoning. In terms of copyright I think this theory fits perfectly as it is seen as a social norm to pirate from mainstream artists and it is also somewhat seen as a social norm or expectation not to pirate from local artists. This theory argues many judge morality of copyright based on social issues than moral or ethical responsibility. In other words, there is less feeling that artists deserve to get paid for their work out of moral decency and more the pressure to do the right thing socially, doing what friends are doing or not getting in trouble with the law. Although this is a pessimist view of humans, that we do things based on social norms not the greater moral good, I think it is interesting to consider especially in relation to copyright of mainstream or local artists or even when considering copyright in general.

aDRESSING the Avatar

2009-10-15T16:01:00.006+13:00

Should someone have to face real-world consequences for their actions in an online game? It could be argued that the average person uses Second Life for the same reason as what the Renaissance and Medieval everyday person went to the carnival: for a non-consequential escape. Its a long quote, but Mikhail Bakhtin gives us an idea on what the carnival meant for people during those times.

“All the symbols of the carnival are filled with this (ever-changing playful) pathos of change and renewal, with the sense of the gay relativity of prevailing truths and authority. We find here a characteristic logic of the ‘inside out,’ of the “turnabout,” of a continual shifting from top to bottom, from front to rear, of numerous parodies and travesties, humiliations, profanations, comic crownings and uncrownings. A second life, a second world of folk culture is thus constructed.”

It seems that what Bakhtin was trying to get across, was that the ‘everyday’ person got to escape from their boring usual activities when they went to the carnival. While there was a lot of jokers, fools and cross-dressing, there was also the idea that everyone had the same status or social class on the day of the carnival. Similar instances can be seen in online games like Second life, where the player gets to be whoever he or she wants. As well as the fact that everyone is equal and, of course, they get to act like a fool without any real world consequences. I was reading up on the advantages of Second Life gaming and came across many stories that involved questions about the etiquette of an avatar. It seems that there are quite a few 'real-world' companies that have started to use Second Life in order to conduct their business (for example conference calling). In a Wall Street Journal blog, Marisa Taylor, posted an article with the title, "You’re Avatar Is Dressed Inappropriately." In the article she says that the company, Gartner, has released a new report on the etiquette that an avatar should have. “Just as with social networking sites and individual Web pages where employees participate as representatives of their employer, an avatar’s behavior and appearance are a reflection of the individual and the company they work for.” If your avatar represents ‘who you truly are' in your attempt to escape reality, then it brings up the question as to whether companies should be allowed to enforce a dress code. It also brings up the question of whether it is called discrimination if an employee has to change 'who they really are' in order to be accepted the work environment.

Active audiences and fandom

2009-10-15T15:47:00.001+13:00

Audience studies that emerged out of the Frankfurt school, from theorists such as Adorno and Horkheimer, placed individuals as ‘cultural dupes’ that merely absorbed texts and remained passive. In contrast many theorists including Stuart Hall and Henry Jenkins have recognised the potential for audiences to get involved. When thinking about the ability for audiences to become active a dominant example arises out of fan communities. Through the use of new technology fans of texts such as Star Wars are able to go beyond absorbing the text, by also producing their own material. Users can do this by building on the pre-existing texts. Henry Jenkins, a seminal theorist on fandom, discusses how it emphasizes the creativity of fans. One of the ways that fans do this is through the creation of animated fan fiction. Audiences are able to adapt the original story lines by placing them in situations that did not exist in the original text. In science fiction, including Star Wars there has even been the creation of ‘slash fiction’ in which characters that are heterosexual within the original text are placed in same sex relationships by the audiences.

New technology has become a facilitating factor in this process based on the ability of fans to use computer software, relatively cheaply to produce original material. However the internet has also allowed fans to create online communities based on these new productions. Through web 2.0, in particular blogs, fans can chat to other fans about projects they are currently working on and ask for feedback and advice. In this way, they can also share their ideas and contribute to others’ projects. This links back to the concept of how new media also allows audiences to work collaboratively and potentially produces a collective project. This is a further example of what was discussed in the lecture as the breaking down of a central author. Not only is the original text added to by audiences but fan fiction is also often formed by a group and not a singular author. The ability for audiences to not only create original material but also to join together with those with shared interests shows how new media may be beneficial in producing more active audiences and also helping to strengthen fan communities. While it is important to recognise the fact that there may be limitations to an individual's agency, such as lack of access to resources (digital divide) one can see that there is at least potential for audiences to move beyond the realm of consumerism.

For anyone that is interested in fandom and active audiences I would suggest reading work by Henry Jenkins, such as “Fans, bloggers and gamers: exploring participatory culture-2006.

Internet 2.0: Facilitating Consumer Choice

2009-10-15T15:21:00.001+13:00

In Jose Van Dijick’s article Users Like You? he criticizes Time magazine for jumping on the bandwagon of optimism in regards to user generated content on the media. He argues that the creative energy and self-expression found on sites such as you tube.com is being undermined by the increasing corporate control over said user generated content. They now have the ability to exploit our work for their own benefit.

However my argument, like another blog written earlier is that the internet’s user generated content should be applauded, even with the attempted corporate control being exerted over it.

This is because it shows the potential for the internet to destabilize the current ‘top down’ media format, something that the theorist Adorno would describe as the ‘culture industry‘. Basically, this is media created by the ruling class (modern day corporations) and given to the masses for consumption. In recent history, a company such Aol TimeWarner exemplifies this through their production of visual and print media which can be used to potentially manipulate the masses, due to a lack of a more organic alternative.

I think that the world is slowly moving away from this form of media, albeit at a slow-ish pace. The internet, with the rise of 2.0 can now be used as a platform for ‘mass culture’ which according to Adorno is culture created by the people, for the people. Google’s increasing influence simply shows a corporation attempting to control a medium which cannot be controlled. The growth of individual choice can also be seen in other mediums such as television, where the TV stations who once could manipulate the ‘flow’ of watching in order to maximise viewership and thus advertising revenue can now do nothing to prevent the rise of TiVo and the freedom for consumers to watch what they want, when they want it and without the advertising. The ease of setup on the internet, and the enormous worldwide audience has given people the ability to be produsers, and for ’passive’ consumers to choose to bypass the traditional media sources.

Privacy in the Digital Age

2009-10-15T13:32:00.001+13:00

Security cameras are all over today and individuals are getting more and more conscious of its presence. According to Bob Sullivan, in the digital world that we live in today it is very hard to keep any secrets because of the digital bread crumbs that we leave behind. These digital bread crumbs become bits and pieces that strangers can put together and figure out who you are and where you come from. Privacy in the digital age is becoming an important factor that many are thinking twice about and carefully considering. Surveillance cameras are present everywhere in malls, schools and even on the road. They monitor what people are doing and help restore peace and order in the society.

Around New Zealand there are speed cameras on most of the busy roads. Binning discusses in her article that about 9500 tickets were issued on East Coast Rd on Auckland’s North Shore in nine months. Police collect about $50 million a year from speeding fines. Waitemata Road Policing Manager Superintendent John Kelly said that speed cameras are being installed so that attitudes of motorists would change by issuing them tickets. He also mentions that he has a big concern for the pedestrians who are the school children and that his job is to make them as safe as possible.

Authorities can now monitor the way motorists drive around New Zealand and can easily send a speeding ticket by mail to a person’s house. Drivers now are more aware of these technologies of surveillance and at time drive more cautiously keeping in mind that every move they make is being watched by someone behind the camera.

Privacy in the digital age is becoming more and more complicated everyday. Today one will never know when he or is being watched or not.

The New Public Sphere

2009-10-15T12:25:00.002+13:00

Habermas believed to have a true democracy you need to have a public sphere of political debate. Where anyone of any age, sex, race and socio-economic background was free to debate in a arena free from the personal/private matters.
Most now agree that this is impossible. Habermas based his ideals on models that themselves didn't fit his Public Sphere ideal. The Athenians, first to have a public sphere in the form of assemblies, allowed only men and not slaves to participate. Later, the print informed bougeouis culture of the 1800's, another reference for Habermas, was seen as exclusive to the middle-class due to financial and class differences.
While these problems have been identified, it is still agreed that a form of Habermas' ideal public sphere is a goal to aim for in a demoractic society. Only problem is, with populations sprawling from one side of the country to the next, the place for such a debate is physically impossible to establish. From the late 19th century, the media was tasked with facilitating this public sphere, and things like the TVNZ charter came about, along with letters to the editor and later, interactive content like text, phone and email in. Only problem was, most of the time, the communication was one way, not a debate. Even texts, phone calls, and emails in were screened for approprateness and entertainment factors. Clearly, it was not freely accessed by all. But this was considered the best we could get, until Facebook.
Facebook has but one limit - you must have and email address, and by extension, a computer with internet, not a large problem in the majority of 1st world countries, like NZ.
On Facebook, through personal Walls, News Feeds, Groups and Event Planners, messages can be spread, updated and debated by any member and members can be quickly mobilized to act.
The popularity of Facebook has seen all manner of politicans create a page and membership, from John Key to UN member Helen Clark. The Public Sphere then, going beyond Habermas' ideal by allowing direct debate with the heads of state politics without screening or discrimination.
Certainly there are holes, particularly the combining of the private and public on Facebook. But there remains no doubt in my mind that the new form of the public sphere has arrived in the shape of Facebook.

Labour web 2.0 - The case of suicide girl

2009-10-15T12:03:00.002+13:00

If we take what Shoshana Magnet call a ‘utopian cyberfeminist perspective’ in looking at suicidegirl.com, we might view the site providing an infrastructure that free women from rigid norms of what is sexy, sexual and desirable female. It attempt to enhance female agency by giving voice to female participants. It operates as if it is following how liberated female wish them to be looked at and to be read rather than projecting the traditional female sexuality that often found in other mainstream media. In this sense, the site appear to activate the potential of Web 2.0 to foster democracy, interactivity, freedom and creativity by encouraging users to participate in posting their own material (nude photos and journals), commenting and voting.

However, model participants are paid for their contribution to the site in order for the site to ensure the amount and the quality of these ‘user-generated’ materials. To become a ‘suicide girl’, model’s submitted photos must be passed through the review of the staffs and other members. That means only a specific type of ‘beauty’ that cater to staffs and other members’ taste and definition of ‘punk, tattooed and alternative’ suicide girl will be selected to show on the site. At this sense, users do not have full control over what is to be showed and how it gets displayed, even though the site claimed to be ‘users generated’.

Motivated by the monetary reward, model’s personal identity, their sexuality and their thoughts and minds (represented in their journal and self-description) are commodified to reinforce the exchange-value of their product. It is unproductive and impossible to prove, but it is not hard to see there is specific pattern in the visual and text material that these models contribute. It leads me to doubt if the lives and the leisure time of these models are somewhat shaped by their participation in the site. Would they get more tattoo done to produce more ‘wow’ factor and to increase the chance to be selected? Would they more engage themselves to read feminist or punk literature in order to have more to say in their journal and profile – to attach more signifiers and thus increase the ‘authenticity’ of their product?

In encouraging a specific type of alternative beauty, the website is able to capitalize on niche market rather than activating any singificantly meaningful liberation and exploration on female sexuality. It facilitates capitalist mechanisms rather than democratizing online practices – cybersex. Those ‘suicide girls’ are just another users groups in Web 2.0 that have been exploited through the extraction of surplus value from labor not only by objectification of their creative inputs as commodities, but also, perhaps, the extension of productive work into some aspects of their life.

Creation 2.0

2009-10-15T12:00:00.002+13:00

Jose van Dijck painted a rather grim picture of the prosumer in the Web 2.0 age. He was insistant on citing reasons why Time Magazine's person of the year title awarded to 'You' was too grand a honour for the real prosumer. He listed the corporate control being exerted by corporate entites like Google, who now have power to pull soundtracks or whole videos from a UGC site like Youtube.
He also offered the rule of 100. If 100 used the web only one would create something, 10 would "interact" with it, and 89 would passively view it, not unlike the proverbial couch potato.
I would like to question firstly, the 100 rule itself. This rule is not as steadfast as van Dijck paints it. Secondly, why is the 100 rule not celebrated? This is a number far higher than what was achieved before and worthy of celebration, not ciriticism!
Before the internet, before user friendly 'prosumer' technology, the media operated one way. It's true that the public had a say, and I am not quoting the Hyperdermic Needle theory in the least, but it is incontestible fact that those with the technology produced. The rest consumed. Considering the Consolidation among the big compaines, (mergers like AOL Time Warner come to mind) that's a very small number of people producing for the rest. Nowadays, 1 in 100 is a huge leap forward. What's better still is that this 1 in 100 is not a stable figure. van Dijck himself said it was too early to tell where the new technology and prosumer culture was going to take us. But I'd like to argue that it is taking us to a much more positive future than he allows for.
Think back to the early eighties (or imagine for those of you who weren't born then) when video eight cameras were all the rage. Suddenly a host of people who ordinarily couldn't afford to produce, now could. They in turn inspired others to do the same. Peter Jackson, in a biography by Brian Sibley talked of making his own video eight films which were influenced by what he saw on TV and what he saw other kids doing with their cameras.
If we use the video eight phenomenon as an example and model, then it's clear this 100 rule will not remain stable. The 10 interactive and eventually the 89 viewers will give it a go themselves. Perhaps not all of them mind you, but many will. It's already happening. According to Cnet News a blog is born every half seccond, and that number will increase.
It's still early days, and corporate control is a threat, but the prosumer culture is just beginning to blossom and will grow much prettier than Jose van Dijck proposes.

Sexting and Pornography

2009-10-15T11:36:00.004+13:00

Finding a date or a partner has always been an easy thing for a lot of us. Being young I suppose has its advantages also. However, there is a change in dynamics, 'sexting' has taken over our flirting techniques in the real world. Teens especially are exposing themselves in a rather explicit manner via their mobile phones. In a recent article in the Herald Alice Neville describes teens as 'the "sexting" phenomenon - the taking and sending of intimate photos of oneself on a cellphone - has made headlines overseas and now tech-savvy Kiwi teens are getting in on the act.'( http://www.nzherald.co.nz/mobile-phones/news/article.cfm?c_id=261&objectid=10591012 )It is the same for social networking and talking to people on Facebook chat, flirting via words is a intricate part of foreplay. It is the social life that is promoting such behaviour. There are pitfalls too, where teenagers who are entrusting their pornographic photos in the hands of exploiters. Pornography is making a killing on the internet, Linda Williams(2004) estimates that all revenues of Porn are equating to about ten to fourteen billion dollars annually. So in saying that, sending a measly little photo could evidently become a part of this malicious game.

In Magnets article about suicidegirls.com is about a website that wishes to promote women to own the gaze instead of the 'looked-at-ness' that is usually apparent in other porn sites. Young teenagers would have no initiative into their actions with sexting, and even adults are in danger of being the 'butt' of a joke.

The digital world is becoming a place that is entirely public... where is your next text or sext or pxt going to?!

Who is watching you?!

2009-10-15T10:40:00.002+13:00

On Sunday 20th September, the news showed a story about how Lincoln University students had a dress up party to celebrate Oktober Fest. As most youths do, pictures were taken as a result and posted up on Facebook. The students who dressed up as "German's" had no idea of the implications of their costumes and would have never taken into consider that the rest of New Zealand would be seeing them. On the TVNZ website ( http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/student-s-nazi-party-causes-outrage-3000389 ) they retell the event as a nasty and unacceptable. Lincoln University Students Association president Megan Harte states, that the first year students had no idea that they were expressing racial tendencies.

This is a direct example of privacy in the digital age. In Boyd's article Facebook's Privacy Trainwreck, he uses an example of being in a crowd of all the people you know, when suddenly the music stops, and you are suddenly heard by them all. An embarrassment of course, as there are some things you do not wish say in front of others. Thus being the case for these Lincoln University students. 'Those data were all there before but were not efficiently accessible; they were not aggregated. The acoustics changed and the social faux pas was suddenly very visible.' (Boyd 2008)

No one is ever truly aware of their actions in a social network, your news is everyone news and now for Lincoln University, their downfalls are now there for everyone to see.

Try it, in the Google Search engine type 'Lincoln University' and see what you find out.

New media and self-identity

2009-10-15T10:35:00.002+13:00

Reading Campbell's study of online skinhead groups, I though that the search for 'authenticity' has only arisen as social and economic change has disrupted peoples' old ways of life and made them nostalgic for something seemingly solid to cling to. In the past, the social and economic changes which some expected would produce a more global or international outlook in fact had the opposite effect. For example, Islamic fundamentalism rose in popularity in the 1970s at a time when many Muslim countries were increasing in wealth and in their integration into the world economy. To organise themselves, Islamic groups used modern communications, albeit non-digital ones such as jet travel. So, it is no surprise that the internet is now being used to try and build up identities based on authenticity.

In deed, the colonization of New Zealand brought people far from their homelands and involved them in the formation of new states, connected internationally by steamships and telegraph communications. Nonetheless, settlers and immigrants constructed their identities around old and seemingly identities. For example, Orange Orders were organised in New Zealand (Moyes, 1994).

The disintegration of the USSR and the Eastern bloc has also led to an upsurge of nationalism, not only in that part of the world but also among emigrants across the world. Many migrants are well educated and make use of the internet. This sort of example tends to strengthen the argument that forms of media are relatively neutral. After all, the internet can equally be used to spread information which de-mythologizes dubious claims to 'authenticity'.

Kennedy's finding that most internet users do not want to 'submerge' their identity does not surprise me. People's 'identities' seem fluid or fragmented because of social change, not because they want anonymity.

Moyes, T.A. (1994). The sash their fathers wore: a history fo Orangeism in the North Island of New Zealand, 1868-1900.Dissertation (MA-History)- University of Auckland.

The Right to Participate in Global Culture

2009-10-15T10:24:00.005+13:00

Recent New Zealand news media is in a spin at the moment with the Rugby World Cup broadcasting rights bids flying from all corners.
For those hidden under a rock these past few weeks, Maori TV put in a bid to broadcast the Rugby World Cup 2011 free-to-air. A big government switcheroo took place however, when TVNZ placed a last minute bid above that which Maori TV placed. Beneath the name calling, racism and questionable business practices, reasons for TVNZ pulling a quickie behind Maori TV's back are cited by the New Zealand Herald as simply Maori TV cannot reach 100% of New Zealanders, a demand made by John Key himself.
Rugby is, like it or not, part of New Zealand's culture. It is slathered across TV, the internet, radio and newspapers and informs much of our pop culture. As such, all New Zealanders, it seems, have the right to see the Rugby World Cup free-to-air.
Belief in this right to freely partake in our culture is so strong that the government and major broadcasters are now locked in a battle for rights, stirring up alot of angst and wasting alot of time (in my own humble opinion).
It is this belief in the right to share in ones culture freely that I think plays a large, but often unnoticed part in Piracy.
I'd like to take myself as an example. I am one of the few people out there who do, in some ways, agree with some of the propaganda about piracy. I know that alot of a film's success is based on box office reciepts and a film can be saved or even attain cult status by later DVD sales. Knowing this I try to avoid downloading, burning and copying and don't buy pirated DVDs, and the same goes for music. However, I do have one exception. I will priate what I can't see/access in New Zealand.
Big foreign films splashed across magazines like Empire (which has a New Zealand circulation) and music and movies that are advertised on global sites like IMDB (lists actors and films from round the world) and even pop up film trailers on bigger sites have become regular sights and sounds of my daily experiences on the net. They are part of my culture if you will. They are advertised on sites I visit, discussed on global social networking sites I use, and reviewed in print magazines I read. They are as much a part of my world and culture as the Rugby World Cup is.
Yet much of the time these films and CDs are not released in NZ.
Some could argue that it is the right of the owner/artist where the product is distributed, but I call that into question. If a reccord company only wanted an American auidence, then their advertising should have stayed focused on national mediums like radio, newspapers, TV and film. The internet has no national bounds. Sites are easily accessed by the world and are now geared to handle that. Registration to any website now days includes country of origin and timezone details to best accomodate a global auidence.
Like John Key, I believe my culture should be freely accessed. If CDs are advertised to me, I expect to be able to participate in the culture of supporting the artist by purchasing the CD and enjoying it.
To me, and a large group of my morally concious friends, piracy is not a means to getting what we want (alone), it is a way to protest the current global culture, and national business practices.
It's time corporations, Lables and distributors recognised that the Internet is a global entity. If they are contributing to the Global culture, they need to be prepared to go all the way with it.

Youth 'cannot live' without web

2009-10-15T09:37:00.000+13:00

A (UK) survey of 16 to 24 year olds has found that 75% of them feel they "couldn't live" without the internet.
Read the story on the BBC here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8305731.stm

Tsk Tsk Technicism

2009-10-14T23:17:00.001+13:00

Winston's article (2007) claims that, for Negroponte, the introduction of two million laptops will overcome war, poverty, inequality etc. in the South because those who this technology will be educated enough to avoid these perils" (Winston, 2007: p.171). I agree with Winston (2007) when he claims that technology is a powerful social force. We, as media students, know for a fact that it is. However, to assume that the effects of new technology can stretch out to every factor of the social world can not be good (or at least not so in my opinion, as well as Winstons for that matter). I don't believe that giving a laptop to two million children in Africa can fix the nations problems. Sure, it might help some children to learn more, and even get them better jobs and help contribute to the development of the region. However, what Negroponte seems to lack is an understanding of the basic infrastructure within the society. For example, though these laptops might provide better education for children, it isn't going to 'magically' change the fact that many of these children are malnourished, and need more food to survive. Furthermore, although this 'education' might make them better equipped for the workforce, is there really any kind of stable work force for people to move in to in such countries? Is it going to fix poverty itself? Hardly. Many scholars argue that third world nations have been thrown into a state of poverty as a result of capitalism, and reliance on capitalist, Western countries (though that is another matter entirely). Other scholars argue that poverty has also occurred due to the effects of climate change. Can the introduction of $100 laptops change a countries climate problems? I think not. Though technology does have an impact on society, we can't fix all of a countries problems just by throwing a bit of technology their way and assume that this technology can have the same importance as in the West.

They thought News Feeds were bad...

2009-10-14T21:44:00.002+13:00

Danah Boyd's title to her 2008 article, "Facebook's Privacy Trainwreck", is, now a year later, quite the amusing hyperbole on par with 'video nasties' and the like.
As a refresher, her article recounts Facebook's 2006 inception of 'News Feeds', the application that publishes everything you, your 'friends' and your 'friends' ' 'friends' have been doing on the site. These News Feeds range from quiz results you made public to the little thank you note someone left on your Aunt's Dog's Walker's Cousin-you-met-once-in-May-last-year's page. Danah then goes on the recount the enourmous negative reaction the new service recieved, claiming users at the time were 'outraged' and felt their privacy had been breeched.
Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg was quick to reply, insisting only information already public was being revealed. Instead of looking at your Aunt's Dog's Walker's Cousin-you-met-once-in-May-last-year's page for details on what they are doing and who appreciates the gesture, the information is all together in one convenient place. This, Zuckerberg claimed, "helped people keep tabs on their friends"(Boyd 2008. 14)
It wouldn't be long before the scandal was over, the outrage subsided and the New Feeds an accepted part of Facebook, and daily life. Even myself, a techno-sceptic by virtue of the fact my head can't process all the information thrown at me from my various techno-portals, must admit, when I check my Facebook (which is becoming more and more regular) I breeze through the New Feeds before I do anything else. I look at this article, and it's terror inspiring hyperbole of a title and laugh. Or I did, till I found myself in a similar predicament.
Just for a laugh, I thought I'd Google myself. I'd heard it was the thing to do...who wouldn't love to see if they're famous enough to find themselves on the net? So I tapped my name into Google's search bar, expecting nothing but a White Pages entry and maybe, if I was really lucky, some archived article from the local paper I was quoted in.
Turns out I was more famous than I thought. Googling myself returned 8 pages related to me.
Only problem was, most of these had nothing to do with that local paper that interviewed me and everything to do with who I was 'friends' with on Facebook. Friends and aquaintences on mine popped up in my search results, their descriptions stating : "Here are some of ['friend']'s friends: ...Gina Minahan...". Two of these search results were even in another language!
I laughed at people's outrage to News Feeds, whole heartedly agreeing with Zuckerberg when he insisted all that is published is "public anyhow", (Boyd 2008. 14) little knowing that I would find myself in the same situation.
Turns out it wasn't long after the News Feeds fiasco that Facebook made all it's listings searchable on sites like Google, Yahoo and MSN search. In October 2007 limited information from member's profiles was made publicly available through search engines. (Cashmore 2007). The amount of data searchable is, of course, very limited. A profile photo, list of friends (and their photos) and all that I am a 'fan' of is listed, with all other information restricted to members I approve.
Members do also have the option to op-out of the search as it were, by changing their privacy setting in Facebook to restrcict their profile to only those they approve.
Some could argue then that, like the News Feeds drama, this is no bigger deal, and it is as much ancient history as the News Feeds themselves. Yet I still have concerns. When I signed up to Facebook, (which I admit was only in the last year) I was aware of News Feeds, but comfortable with the fact that they remained within the realms of Facebook. My behaviour on Facebook then, was dictated by the norms that operated within the site. I wasn't aware that some of what I did within the boundaries of Facebook was searchable by the entire world.
The concern here is not so much I'm out there in the world, but what could I and my data be used for.
To make matters worse, search result number one happens to be a glorified advertisment for Facebook. In place of the gorgeous starlet, there is me. The result reads: "Gina Minahan is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Gina Minahan and others you know."
Already I am being used as a brand for advertising Facebook. This goes beyond an issue of Privacy and begins to cross identity lines as well.

References
Boyd, Danah 2008. Facebook's Privacy Trainwreck, Exposure, Invasion and Social Convergence. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Cashmore, Pete 2007. "Facebook Profiles will Appear in Google Results Next Month" on Mashable, The Social Media Guide http://mashable.com/2007/09/05/facebook-search/

The Prosumer in Web 2.0

2009-10-14T21:29:00.002+13:00

The idea of prosumers, produsers and professional consumers are all exciting new concepts that show how the everyday person can interact and use their creativity in entirely new ways with relation to new media. It must be considered however, as van Dijck discusses, that just because these technologies exist, does not mean everyone has access or the ability to participate (another loaded term). Obviously considering Web 2.0’s relatively recent inception, although it is marketed as exceptionally easy to use, it will take some time before the majority of internet users are accomplished in directing themselves around Web 2.0.

During this weeks lecture, Anna brought up the notion of Internet users (or more specifically Web 2.0 users) as liberated and empowered, freed from traditional media distribution and advertising. This idea was presented as threatening to corporate entities. Van Dijck however, in this weeks reading brought up the argument of an emerging rule of thumb that suggests for every group of 100 people online, one will create content, 10 will ‘interact’ with it (commenting or offering improvements) and the other 89 will simply view it (44). Considering this, the number of those users that may be characterised as empowered is significantly less than those who navigate this environment. It is also important to understand that all of those 100 are still potential consumers, and can therefore be targeted with conventional forms of advertising, as well as the more niche market focused ploys that may only be understood or attractive to the minority of users.

It’s possible that the 100-person model is becoming outdated, or perhaps the number of Internet users is simply expanding at an incredible rate. I say this due to the fact that the employment of new media by amateur producers has risen to such an extent that the line between amateurs and professionals is becoming increasingly blurred. User Generated content is also increasing with the ease of interaction Web 2.0 provides. This increase has resulted in ever improving quality and creativity and subsequently becomes commercially viable. It will be interesting to see where this medium goes, and how significant the active prosumer will become.

Paranormal Activity- The new way of online film marketing

2009-10-14T20:06:00.000+13:00

On the news tonight an item that caught my attention was the new horror film that is being released in the US, titled “Paranormal Activity”. “Already dubbed "one of the scariest movies of all time", its success is drawing comparisons with The Blair Witch Project” (The Independent, 2009). But the way that this film has been marketed is quite different and uses the Internet to its advantage. “Paramount purchased the film in the New Year, after its unknown director, Oren Peli, showed it at the Slamdance Film Festival. Its strictly limited release has created an aura of exclusivity around the film, which spent the week among the top "trending" topics on the social networking website Twitter” (The Independent, 2009).

Jose van Dijck points out in his article (2009) that audiences are having the opportunity in the new age to participate within the culture. With the accessibility of these technologies and new media at the touch of a fingertip, Paramount has used the Internet to the films advantage in helping to promote and Market this film. The way that they have done this is provided college students in America free tickets to the screening of the film, and then after the screening they allowed the power of the Internet and its users to do the work. The outcome of this was a copious amount of people hyping the film up and creating interest from many other people.

There is also website that was created for the students and other people who would like to see the film, it allowed users to click on a button “demand it”, which then lets you register their country and city, and once a city has reached one million demands then the film will be released nationwide. This is an example of the usage as participatory, and in a way user generated content, in terms of if the film gets shown in your country or not. On the film’s website it has also used tools such as Twitter, Myspace, Facebook and other social networking sites to help promote the film and demand it.

Copyright and Piracy

2009-10-14T14:35:00.003+13:00

It is interesting to think about the major issues that revolve around copyright and piracy. It is hard to think of what is legal and what is illegal these days due to the majority of "sharing" sites there are on the Internet.

One for thought is YouTube. It is clear to see that anyone can upload anything on the website and others all over the world will have access to it. But what exactly is considered as illegal on Youtube? I thought I would use my initiative and research the issue for myself (click here to see the link) . After following the link on the website, I found a great big list of what people need to check with before filling out a "Copyright Complaint WebForm". Something else to wonder is, how many people actually go through the process of reading the terms and conditions on websites such as YouTube before posting up their material.

Here's another one. Making "fan-made" videos has become something extremely popular on the Internet. So what if the music and images used in those videos was not made by the person who is posting the video? Do we start classing this as piracy and breach of copyright law? If so, do we start questioning social networking sites and pictures that friends post up without asking for our permission first?

I guess the question is are those who freely share pirated works on websites such as YouTube equivalent to those who derive profit from piracy?

Let them be eaten by Laptops

2009-10-14T14:04:00.000+13:00

The limits of Technicism? Brian Winston entire argument has me somewhat confused. Is he arguing that technology is benign, or is he arguing that it is, in fact, malignant? The main point of the article starts out trying to establish that giving children laptops in third world countries is preventing access to food and shelter and robbing them of an education, and in doing so has an opposite effect to what is intended by the project. Quite obviously Nicolas Negroponte is a very evil man. But does Winston have any more objectiveness? His tangent about technological historical disparities may be an attempt at giving a kind of balanced argument but he quite clearly holds disdain for technicists, even though he might not be far off one himself. Are anti-technicists really so different from pro-technicists? Their claims are equally extreme: ‘Technicism’s gravest problem is that it is disempowering.’
It may well be, but surely anti-technicism is also disempowering. Don’t get me wrong, he has some good points, I had no idea that people thought that poor Rupert Murdoch was ‘merely in technology’s grip.’ How terrible! But, in a round about way, he himself is claiming that now all those little African children will be too because of this laptop scheme. I’m not sure where he stands, perhaps I am reading him completely wrong but I think he should take a step back and smell the daisies. Yes, the project is limited, arguably all schemes to help the third world build infrastructure are, but that doesn’t mean that they are useless or cannot be adapted to be more effective. No matter the capitalist motivations of the technology’s producer surely it signifies a step towards governments that are concerned about education and infrastructure, and that they are prepared, however ill advised, to do something about it.

Proximity, Tangibility and Crime with Regards to Downloading Music

2009-10-14T13:32:00.002+13:00

The issue of copyright, especially in regards to downloading music and intellectual property rights is a very topical one that seems to get almost everyone fired up. It also seems to be an area of law that is so vague, intangible and subject to personal opinion that I feel it will be a very long time before any kind of consensus as to what is ‘right/legal’ and what is ‘wrong/illegal’ is decided upon.

Among my age group (early 20s) downloading music from the internet seems to be universally accepted. The only thing that would possibly stop you would be if you weren’t very good with computers. I remember the day I figured out how torrents work and where I could get them from… I was so happy! Yes! Free music for me! Not for one moment did any kind of moral or legal restrictions enter my mind as something that could prevent me from having the latest album by whoever…

Dominey Flores brings up an interesting point which I totally agree with: many people (especially, I would think, in a small country like New Zealand) will claim that it is wrong to download or rip music by local artists, but doing the same to hugely popular foreign artists on major record labels is fine, with the reasoning behind this being that local artists have more to lose in terms or royalties, where as huge pop stars are so rich anyway losing out on that extra $2 royalty they would have received won’t even put a dent in their massive fortunes.

I think where this idea comes from is a combination of the idea of proximity and the level of tangibility. For example, in the past I have purchased albums by local bands such as The Mint Chicks and Lawrence Arabia, both because I like the music and I felt it was good to support them through the purchasing of their music. This desire to ‘support’ them may come from the ‘proximity’ I feel with local bands… chances are I’ve been to several of their gigs, seen them walking around the city or even served them at the bar I work at. Music by the Rolling Stones, on the other hand, I have never paid for. I have also never seen them live, met them or felt any personal connection to them. And I’ve never felt guilty about downloading their stuff, either. With regards to tangibility, I think that downloading music or movies absolutely is not like stealing a handbag or a car, as the popular advert states. I reckon that if I could get a car for free with minimal effort, virtually no chance of being caught, and all my friends did the same thing then I probably would!

The article by Yar (2008) brings up the nature of law, which is relevant here. In this, she states that certain conducts being identified with crime depend on whether or not “the behaviour in question constitutes a breach of acceptable social norms, and that it partakes of some moral wrongdoing or injury that offends against a society and its members”. In the example I provided before, it would make sense that I am quite happy to download music from huge American bands, because it doesn’t feel like a crime. I don’t have a sense that I am breaching social norms because the actual ‘theft’ is so intangible, nor do I feel like I am personally injuring the Rolling Stones by downloading their music.

It’s a complex issue…

Me2day : Social network sites

2009-10-14T13:12:00.004+13:00

Friday, 18 September

Social network sites are now more than just an online place for communication and gossip,
but more of an extension of the offline connection of one's relationships.
Well known SNSs like Facebook and MySpace has already become an important part
of many people's daily lives, as they continue thier relationships and stay in track of
whats going on with the people they are connected with, as Dunbar commented and
referred this as 'social grooming'. Twitter, a micro-blogging service emerging as the
latest trend of this social phenomenon attracts more and more users every day,
as it allows people to be able to keep on track of rapidly changing relationships an
thier status and most importantly, its the 'microness' of Twitter that differentiates
itself from other SNSs and eventually, building on a new way of communicating on
networked online.

I have recently become aware of a micro-blogging SNS called Me2day, its a Korean
social network site in a simliar form as Twitter, even though it offers a bit more in features.
The idea is to show the world and your possible will-be-friends of what you're doing right
now, and to find someone who share similar ideas and thoughts as you are then become a friend.
By posting more and more replies to a friend's post, or visiting thier personal page, you
eventually become a 'follower', as you have made enough contribution towards your friends posts to be awared this title. People post a 'follower list' on thier page to show how many followers they have and also, importantly, thier ranks are displayed - so that it encourages people who have stepped down on thier rank to be more active in socializing with thier friends.
Such feature, similar to the follower feature of Twitter, focuses on building on the base
of followers which represents the depth of social connection one has and building on.

Expanding the things they share between the strangers they meet on social network site
such as these are seen that while Social networking sites do provide an excellent field of communication for people on the web, its also a place where people can expose most intimate details of selves of this very moment.

RIP: A Remix Manifesto

2009-10-14T12:47:00.002+13:00

(forgive me if someone else has already brought this up)... RIP: A Remix Manifesto is a 2009 documentary made by Brett Gaylor and examines the copyright issues in the digital age, by following around his favourite artist Girl Talk, who uses samples of famous songs in order to create his music. Each song has something like an average of 120 tiny snippets of other people's music, so you can understand why Girl Talk has been described as "a lawsuit waiting to happen".

Hopfeully some of you got to see this when it was shown at the International Film Festival a couple of months back, but if not I high recommend you watch it if you're interested in these issues, or just want a good history and explanation of the current copyright laws.

True it its ethos, you can watch it for free online at its official website: http://www.ripremix.com/

Please fill in the form below:

2009-10-14T12:22:00.004+13:00

Please fill in the form below with your personal details:

by Sean, September 30

People are being increasingly concerned about thier privacy at risk on the Internet these days.

Reading Danah Boyd's "Facebook's Privacy Trainwreck" brought up some thoughts to my mind,

as we give out our personal information with no concerns at all sometimes on the web.
When surfing on the web, we encounter numerous numbers of advertising pages such as the promotional events page with free gifts and such, at least few times when we're on the Internet.

When some of these promotions are mostly not very attractive towards most people and they

will usually ignore it, but sometimes if the advert looks reliable (for example, if its from a reliable company that people can trust) people will show some interest towards it. Most of these promotional adverts will require the users to fill in a personal information data, including your name, home address, phone number, email address, occupation and even an alternative contact's details in case the gift does not reach you or something - its pretty much all the major personal information that you're required to give out to someone who you don't even know and will probably never meet in your life. He/she, whos responsible for collecting people's data, eventually will end up with tens of thousands of different people's personal information.

We don't have any idea what the companies promoting these events are going to do with the collected information of the participants. However, interesting thing is, even though people are concerned about privacy on the Internet, they still tend to expose thier privacy in these situations, when he/she decides that the receipient is reliable and trustworthy. But you never really know how they're going to be used.

Producer=Consumer ?

2009-10-14T10:57:00.018+13:00

In the digital age, consumers are becoming prosumers, they create and reconfigure their own 'products' according to their demand. New technologies help us to make things much easier by offering different advance capabilities. I think there is a trend of a greater agency in the digital age, where consumers/users are more active in participating within the media, they don't just watch what others are doing, but they are people who actually create, share and publish different contents and work online. For example, I've made video clips of friends' birthday parties using software and programmes such as 'Windows Movie Maker' and 'Photoshop', and have uploaded onto youtube, which I think I would not be able, or would not intend to do so without the use of computer or the internet, because it is too complicated and time consuming to produce and share something like this without a computer. However, Jose van Dijck suggests that 80% of the participants online are passive recipients of content, not everyone who participates is contributing.

Another point relating to the 'prosumer' era is the remix culture. It means that users are creating something new by someone else's material and engage with other forms of media. The remix of content, or the borrowing of texts (intertextuality), is often being used. As Barthe has suggested that the notion of authorship may have been challenged as it is difficult to know which the original is or who the owner of a certain 'product' is. This reminds me of a clip I've watched on Youtube of a remix version of the incident between Taylor Swift and Kayne West at the MTV awards. The video involves a guy who dresses up like Taylor Swift and acts the whole scene all over again but with his own script and Kanya West's song is added as the background music. People have become more like the producers. due to the advance technologies that are available, hence, the difference between producer and consumer is blurred.

This episode is currently only available to viewers living in the United States？

2009-10-14T00:53:00.000+13:00

In Monday’s tutorial, the question that whether the media companies have the rights to provided their programmer, such as television drama online but only to the audiences who live in a particular nation. Ones may claim that these are their products, and these companies have rights to decide who they’d like to provide. Although it seems fair, I’d like to argue that there are double standers here.

I’d like to use the official website of FOX TV drama Lie To Me as an example. The address is http://www.fox.com/lietome/. On the main page, we could see all those amazing pictures, textual guides and a very noticeable picture link with the invitation of “Watch the latest Episode” on it. There is not any notice or warning that this is an American resident only website. Moreover, under this invitation, there is another significant flash, the vehicle advertising. I clicked this advertising and it successfully bring me bring me to the website
http://www.chevrolet.com/vehicles/2010/equinox/overview.do
So, apparently it is not an American resident only advertising. I suppose this is not voluntary, Fox must get paid for putting this advertising on this website and advertise to people who visit this website and no matter where they are living or from. Then the important part comes. I finally clicked the link of “Watch the latest Episode”. I was told politely that “Thank you for your interest in FOX. This episode is currently only available to viewers living in the United States.”

Isn’t there any problem? While portending the website is facing global and advertising to global, the companies provide service only to local. Supposing a theater told people there is a free movie, then after everyone comes in and watches the advertising before the actual film, they were told that “sorry you cannot watch the film, because you are not living in American.” It is not a problem that the global audience benefits the companies as local audience, but it is a problem when the global audience requires the same treatment as the local ones. Do these companies really have the rights?

Music Piracy and iPods

2009-10-13T22:42:00.001+13:00

The topic of music piracy is an interesting issue, especially in today’s techno- cultured society. With the increase of different MP3 players available out there, and the Apple brand of iPods taking over the youth market, music piracy seems to be popping up everywhere. As discussed in the lecture that it use to be illegal to have music on your iPod that you do not own in hard copies. As people soon discovered, this was hard for piracy police to manage and monitor. Majid Yar (2008) points out in her article that downloading music and taking music without paying is a ‘crime’. Sometimes I myself do not think about giving new music to my friends or vice versa as being a crime, I believe this is how youth culture and popular culture is being adapted. Yar (2008) also points out in her article that the youth are the main offenders of online piracy and have linked this sort of action to the increase of youth crimes, in which I believe is going a bit too far.

A good point that was raised in the lecture is that because of this kind of sharing of music amongst the youths and even adults, has allowed for bands to be introduced to new audiences and listeners. And if it was not for this kind sharing, the bands may have not even been able to further themselves into other markets and get exposure. From my own personal experience, after getting new music off my friends computer and listened to it, if I like what I hear I would usually go out and buy the hard copy album. This is because I like the booklet and the other stuff that comes with a physical album, unlike the downloaded copy. This brings up the fact that I would not have gone out to buy the album if I had not initially been given it on my iPod.

creative commons - the way of the future

2009-10-13T21:29:00.003+13:00

The idea of creative commons seems to be the future of how society will begin to think about authorship and creativity. All through history every work of art has borrowed from and referenced another creative work. Homer, the famous bard, collected oral stories and presented them in a written format but he did not take credit for coming up with these works. Rather, when these works came to be published, they were done under the name of Homer thus negating the long history and traditions of historical Greek culture. It is Western society that has imposed the current ideas of ownership by the author. Many traditional cultures have valued the sharing of knowledge for the betterment of their communities and it is through Copyright and patents that a lot of technological advances have been slowed down and restricted. Don't get me wrong, everyone deserves credit for the work they put in but laws need to be in play that allow for free access for improvements rather than economic gains as the priority. Creative commons are trying to allow access to create new products and texts in a more globalised society. Their value and validity has just been heightened through a nobel prize. http://creativecommons.org/weblog/

Roland Barthes has also predicted the "death of the author". By this he means that when a text is out in the public sphere, the author has no control over how audiences engage with it and the types of meanings they get from it. Therefor it only seems logical to allow an easier access to remixing and recreating. If there is only one assigned meaning to a text, we will fall into the category of 'cultural dupes'. So by allowing easy and free access, it allows for better engagement with culture and issues around us. A link can even be made to getting power out of the hands of the few and into the hands of multitudes. Copyright and patents do not only affect music and movies but also medication and how cheap they can be. This could probably enable cheap and effective medication to be sent to Third World countries with the Negropontes laptops (jokes).

Machinima

2009-10-13T12:46:00.004+13:00

In the lecture yesterday when Anna was talking about prosumers, it got me thinking about machinima. Machinima is, according to Berkeley (2006) the "convergence of filmmaking, animation and game development" (66). A machinima film will take footage recorded within a game (such as Halo) and edit it together to make a coherent narrative. One of the most well-known machinima series is 'Red vs. Blue'. This series takes footage from the hugely popular game Halo and makes it into a sort of TV show. The characters don't do much, they are in the Blood Gulch canyon, and the characters are not exactly sure why they are there. This results in some hilarious situations between the two different teams.

So how exactly does this relate to the lecture. Well, as Berkeley (2006) highlights, this form of film-making offers opportunities to people who do not have the resources to produce big budget films. Anybody who owns an XBOX, video editing software, and a sense of humour could have made Red vs. Blue. In fact, when trawling through Youtube, it is possible to see many different forms of machinima, be it mini films recorded in World of Warcraft, or other work done by Rooster Teeth, the creators of Red vs. Blue. Creators of machinima can fit into both the categories of producer/consumer and produser, as games are becoming increasingly supportive of recording gameplay. For example, The Sims has an in-game recording feature, and this aids in the creation of machinima.

Machinima is, I think, an excellent example of the prosumer and the increasingly participatory nature of the media.

Reference

Berkeley, L. (2006). Situating Machinima in the New Mediascape. Australian Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society, 4(2), pp 65-80

Copyright

2009-10-12T21:57:00.000+13:00

Judging by the reaction from some of the people in today’s tutorial, the issue of copyright laws is quite controversial...The views that were presented revealed the complexity of the notions behind intellectual property ownership and rights. I found it very interesting that some people discriminated against the piracy of music from local NZ artists as ‘not okay’; and the piracy of big-name US music artists such as Britney Spears as ‘okay’. Arguably, the rationale behind this was that local artists have more to lose in terms of money/royalties than artists like Britney Spears who have amassed tons of money from a larger fan base...Therefore, by physically buying the albums of local musicians one is showing a sign of ‘support’ through the ‘legit’ purchase of their work (at least this was what I gathered from the discussion thread). Could this possibly indicate the use of piracy (by some people) as a kind of ‘up-yours’ gesture to dominant music industries/corporations (i.e. in the US)? Could this also indicate how the very concept of ‘piracy’ is viewed on different ‘levels’ of ‘wrongness’ (i.e. some piracy is good and others bad)???...I DON’T KNOW...With regards to Yar’s article – a lot of what was discussed in today’s tutorial touched on his main arguments. A large majority of people don’t really give a crap about copyright laws. Personally, as a uni student if I could save myself twenty bucks from ‘legitimately’ buying the new Muse album then SWEET...Of course, that’s not to say that downloading is necessarily ‘right’ or that not giving a crap about copyright laws is ‘good’ either...but like what Yar discussed in his article and what a great majority of the people in my class argued – downloading digital info and media is just not the same as stealing a handbag (like what those anti-piracy ads are trying to make out). I suppose it’s tied up with the whole distinction between the ‘tangible’ and ‘intangible’. When we download music or whatever from the internet that we haven’t paid for – the people who ‘created’ or ‘own’ the product haven’t exactly been dispossessed of a physical item. They do still own the original – that can still be reproduced over and over again and sold over and over again (as Yar argues). Another argument was that Copyright laws and its introduction into the education of younger generations are largely driven by corporate interests (at least in the sense that businesses/individuals would want to reserve as much right to make money out of their ‘original work’). I personally think that downloading music or whatever to share is vastly different from downloading music to sell and actually profit from (this could possibly tie in with the whole ‘good’ piracy ‘bad’ piracy??). My mate is a photographer and she has a blog in which she posts all her photographs. She reckons that it’s all good if people use her pictures as desktop backgrounds, or print them out and hang them on the wall – but she would be seriously ticked off if she found out that someone had been using them to make money. There was one case where a very well known fashion blogger/illustrator had her drawings used by the women’s clothing store Valley Girl as a print for one of their t-shirts. The blogger took them to court (I think) and posted on her blog that what pissed her off was how Valley Girl had used her drawings without her consent, and that they had imitated them poorly, and was essentially making money out of her ‘original’ work. Which leads me to question...would I be equally as pissed off if someone had taken one of my drawings and used it to make money? I think in the end, a large aspect of the copyright debate boils down to that...I think that there are so many gray areas too and opposing perspectives regarding ownership and property rights...

I'm not a thief-Piracy issues

2009-10-12T21:04:00.002+13:00

Arguments surrounding piracy and copyright are complex and arguably extremely subjective. Majid Yar begins his discussion of piracy by outlining the concept that an act is not inherently deviant or criminal; what we consider to be a crime is tied into an underlying assumption that we all agree on what constitutes deviant behavior. “The identification of conduct with crime depends crucially upon a wider consensus that the behavior in question constitutes a breach of acceptable social norms that it partakes of some social wrongdoing or injury that offends against a society and its members”. This benefits a discussion of piracy issues as it shows how society is divided in terms of how we perceive the act. It could be argued that there are varying degrees of copyright infringement that may increase or lessen how ‘bad’ an act it is.

In Greg Elmer’s book, Critical perspectives on the internet, Nick Dyer-Witherford’s chapter looks at some of the contradictions in corporations’ attitudes and concerns over piracy. In particular, one of his arguments relates to the way that the internet and technology is promoted. He argues , “so much corporate effort- in technological design and legal activity- is today being exercised to restrict what the media corporations ostensibly promote, that is, the literally free flow of information”, This is an interesting point as it provides the argument that to a certain extent we are being fooled into thinking the web is a space in which we are able to freely roam and have agency over our consumption choices, whereas this agency is actually being restricted. It is important to consider whether this restriction is fair or not. In some respects the creative commons may be a ‘happy medium’ in that the artist keeps some of the rights to the material but also opens up the level of flexibility in terms of how the audience uses and consumes this product. However this may also be seen as an example of the contradiction that is mentioned above, in that the audience is being restrained to varying degrees.

In my opinion there are limits to what people should be able to do with other people’s material. In some respects I cannot see the problem in copying a CD that I have bought and passing it on to a friend, providing I am not profiting from this process. When thinking of music specifically, the act of pirating material is not a new phenomenon. I can remember that as a child I would always keep a tape in the stereo in order to record my favourite songs off the radio, to playback later. This too is illegal but I do not consider myself as some sort of deviant or criminal because of it. However as Critical perspectives on the internet points out, the internet has broadened the scope of dissemination of pirated material. Coming back to my starting point, piracy is a complex issue and I think I will have to remain a fence sitter. While I do believe that the audience should have some freedom over the way they consume media such as music, I do have issues with people going on to sell an artists material.

Piracy and the youth problem

2009-10-12T19:28:00.002+13:00

I was reading the article by Majid Yar in our course reader, and it seems that the author has blamed internet piracy mostly on young people, and even goes as far as linking illegal downloading with "youth crime", as if that would have the same effect on society. I do admit it is true that young people are most likely and more often to be downloading music or softwares illegally from the internet, but is that really a crime that could cause such a high level of moral panic towards the youth? Even back in the days prior to the internet, people were able to make multiple copies of tapes and videos to share and give amongst friends. How is that different from downloading a file your friends have shared online?

In the article, Yar stressed on the survey results showing the significant number of young people feeling that downloading music and software online is acceptable, and how they admitted to intending to download from the internet within the next six months. I think young people are feeling this way because they cannot see any physical evidence to show that downloading is a crime. We learn as a child to not to steal, not to hurt others etc because those are crimes, and we get punished if we do commit a crime, or we see others getting punished for the crimes they commit on TV or newspapers. We learn clearly the consenquences of committing these crimes, and therefore these actions such as stealing and hurting others are imprinted in our heads as "crimes". But this is not the case when it comes to technologies such as downloading from the internet. The younger generation in society today grew up together with technology. Step by step, young people and technology grew and developed simultaneously. Young people have more knowledge of new technology, especially the internet. It has become a large part of young people's life, whether privately or publicly. Ie: how writing blogs online are a part of our course for this paper, and counts towards our final result. However, young people are never taught about the consequences of piracy, and therefore does not consider downloading as a crime. There are no physical action taken when someone downloads a song from the internet, not any that I have heard of anyway. We hardly ever see people getting punished for illegal downloading, and I'm sure many many people do it all the time without facing any consequences. In many countries, governments are still having trouble coming up with laws enforcing illegal downloading. I think this is a grey area that's still in development and will take some time for people to truely learn and understand.

Buffy vs. Twilight 'Prosumer' Adventures

2009-10-12T19:02:00.000+13:00

Having just had the lecture on the idea of media ‘prosumer’ I was reminded of a reference that was made in my Sociology and the Media class just last week. We were shown a YouTube video that was in my opinion a very relevant example of the ‘mashups’ that were described. In the weeks leading up to the release of the second Twilight film, I found the Buffy vs. Twilight film clip highly entertaining. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM This is a homemade clip, creating an apparent love connection between Buffy and Edward, in which he is overly obsessed, while she is less than interested.
Introducing a narrative and comedic twist to both original texts, it is a self described “example of transformative storytelling”. Targeting sexist gender roles of the Twilight stories, this clip is a humorous remix of popular culture. As part of the Web 2.0 movement, this video exemplifies the consumer interacting and engaging with the text. But most of all, attempting to create their own meaning and messages with the traditional text. The author in this case described the work as “a metaphor for the ongoing battle between two opposing visions of gender roles in the 21st century.” This is ambitious of a short YouTube video clip, yet speaks volumes for the ‘prosumer’ described in today’s lecture. It is characteristic of the agency gifted to consumers to become their own producers with the increasing proliferation of Web 2.0.
In terms of the idea of labour relations with Web 2.0 I think it is easy to see that there would be a degree of time and energy invested into creating such a video. The labour required however, wouldn’t in this case be displacing those that create films for a living. Creation of a new text in this case was not intended to replace the originals. I think it was more to highlight the issues this author has with the message or content of the original Twilight saga. I found it interesting that the majority of the people that engage with texts in such a way are often fans of the original. In this instance I think the ‘prosumer’ is not likely to be a fan judging by the clips description as to what inspired them to make the clip in the first place.
This clip definitely introduces the internet, in this case YouTube, as a ‘platform’ as described in the lecture. Rather than simply viewing the series of Buffy or the Twilight film, the author here was able to engage and show the world their interpretation of the two.

Would YOU Hit the reset button?

2009-10-12T16:52:00.001+13:00

Today I watched a film for another FTVMS course that had overiding themes that couldn't possibly be overlooked in regards to technoculture and new media. The film in question was 'Run Lola Run', a german made action/thriller with a twist. The title character is in a race against the clock to save her boyfriend from a rather unpleasant fate at the hands of a group of mobsters. The film showcases the events three times, each with slightly different actions leading to hugely different outcomes. Some may know of this as 'the butterfly effect', which is a suprisignly detailed mathematical equation outlining how small variations of the initial status of something may produce large variations in the long term. A popular topic in science fiction novels and films, the idea also has some implications for the development of technology in modern society.
I especially noted this in regards to new technological breakthroughs that have achieved mass cultural and societal significance despite their intial intention not being necesarily thus. The prime example here is of course - texting. Had texting never become a mass phenomenon for the general public it is undeniable that the very way in which we live would be completely altered. My flatmate wouldnt have been able to ask me to bring his assignment into uni so he could hand it in on time. I would never have known that my usual monday afternoon lunch buddy was sick and not at uni today. I wouldn't get distracted in class by the undeinable urge to beat my high score in 'snake'. Without texting the world would be a totally different place and the same can be said of many more modern technologies.
While in the film Lola has more than once chance to get her task done right, we do not. What is done is done, what is created cannot be uncreated, and one can't help but wonder how different our lives would be without some of our most commonly used possessions. Two questions stand out above all else in my mind. given the opportunity would we want to change anything? Or would we leave everything as it is for fear of changing the world for the worse?

2009-10-12T09:01:00.001+13:00

What is deemed a criminal act is done so to reflect the changing nature of society and the current structure that exists. What was a legal social function in previous years may become a crime as time passes and the need to regulate certain acts arises. With the change in the purchasing of media such as music, and the ability to attain songs and albums through downloads, it has become a criminal act for those who take part. Although it seems like policing illegal downloads must be extremely hard as the amount of people who do download music for free is phenomenal, those who are losing money because of it, are eager to retain the money that is owed to them.

In my opinion it seems like a losing battle for those who are searching for money when so many unknown people are downloading their music for free. I feel that those who have used more initiative to counter act the free downloads and refresh the ways that people obtain music online will be the winners in the long run.

A site of great interest to me is Bandcamp. Here artists can upload their music onto the site which acts then as an online shop where anyone can go on and download or stream entire albums for either a fixed price, a price that the purchaser wishes to pay for each track, or entirely free. Bandcamp takes no money in return but can be seen more as a powerful, respected medium where independant artists can sell their music to the world. All the rights belong to the artist, who normally miss out on such benefits through record companies and illegal downloads.

This is a great support to the ideas raised in this week’s reading The rhetorics and myths of anti-piracy campaigns and does recognise and reward the individuals involved in the creative process.

Piracy - A product of price?

2009-10-12T08:57:00.000+13:00

On browsing the Stuff Technology page, a topic from this course has once again been covered. Today a story was released regarding the campaign undertaken by Microsoft to put a stop to counterfeit software being used by New Zealanders. Apparently 500 New Zealanders have been “flushed out” by the campaign, which works by inviting the user to receive voluntary updates from Microsoft, which, if accepted, will detect whether unauthorised software is being used. If it is, an invitation to purchase the real thing, or apply to receive a free genuine copy is sent by Microsoft to the user. I think that this approach by Microsoft is a much more appropriate one than we have seen in the past.

As Yar (2008) writes, crime goes further than legal or statutory prohibition, and is more a process depending on social and moral opinion. Yar (2008) references Durkheim (2003) in saying that crime “consists of an act that offends certain very strong collective sentiments”. Microsoft seems to be responding to this, by using a passive-aggressive strategy to stamp out piracy of its software products. Rather than locking people up in jail, Microsoft offers the option to go straight, or do the right thing by them. Obviously the issue of piracy would be a massive problem for Microsoft, as the amount of money lost to piracy could cause considerable damage to the company. By using such a system to encourage people to purchase their products, Microsoft could change the opinions of people.

However, I feel that the major problem with piracy revolves around the retail price of software, rather than the moral opinions of users. Whilst music and films have alternatives, which I myself have chosen to take, mainly being able to purchase music and films for reduced prices on iTunes, software is more difficult to get hold of. The RRP of Microsoft Office for Windows, at Dick Smith Electronics is $149. Some may say this is a fair price, but other may believe it is too much and turn to a pirated version. The increasing popularity of Apple computers can also have contributed to the amount of software piracy, as Microsoft Office for Mac costs $328. This is a large difference in price, and is even more likely to cause people to run pirated versions of Office on their Mac machines.

I feel that the issue of piracy is one that is going to be extremely difficult to ‘flush out’ as Microsoft hopes, but if large corporate take a leaf from Microsoft’s passive-aggressive book, it may just be possible.

Social Shaping of Technology vs Technological Determinism

2009-10-12T08:27:00.004+13:00

Brian Winston brings about a very interesting point about the rise of technology in his article Let Them Eat Laptops. I've always had some thought on why technology has developed to what is has become today but have never considered how.

After pondering this for a little while i came to the conclusion that, it is very possible that both the social shaping of technology and technological determinism play a big role in the advancement and development of technology. When the mobile phone was first at its peek, technological determinism created technological forces which caused for the rise in its popularity. Mobile phones were everywhere, they were accessible to most people and set off a new way for communicating with others. So in other words, the response towards the mobile phone from man kind was influenced through the technological forces created by technology. Here we have the example of technological determinism. But what if we were to look at it differently. The rise of mobile phones and the increase in its popularity may have been the influence of technological determinism back in the day, but today, the popularity of mobile phones seems to have an influence caused by the social shaping of the technology.
Having a mobile phone is no longer strictly for communication purposes. People use their mobile as a form of entertainment as well as a resource which supplies information. Being able to download music onto a mobile phone and accessing emails or websites such as Facebook drives people to want this "gadget" as it is the "cool" thing to have. People choose to have a mobile phone and the growth of its popularity has been, not only influenced (previously) by technological determinism, but by social shaping as well. Society influences for the development of this technology by choosing to make this particular technology a "must have" technology. This then drive for more development to take place for this particular technology.

It may have been previously argued that the development of technology can only occur under either social shaping or technological determinism, but not both. In my opinion this may not be the case. It may not be possible for both theories to take place at the same time, but it could be possible that the past development of a technology caused by technological determinism may have brought upon the social shaping of technology today.

Is Piracy an individual accident?

2009-10-12T01:11:00.006+13:00

In the reading New Media & Society, Yar includes a theory that states “the burden of crime control is shifted away from the neoliberal state and toward individuals” (Muncie, 2005). Not surprisingly, it is individual's responsibility to obey the law and order. Especially in the aspect of Piracy, if there is no one follows the rules, piracy will spread without restrictions. As a result, media products would be facing serious threats. Certainly with some connections between individual and piracy, one major aspect that every one needs to think about is attitude about piracy.

Do people consider piracy as a serious crime, or it is some sort of accident. People may probably posit themselves innocent; all they did were not crimes. They just download or copy accidently, they don’t consider these “accidents” as illegal activity. As long as you keep copies for private reasons, and don’t sell for commercial purpose. It is no denying the fact that majority of people “accidently” break rules.

Up to now, new media technology becomes more individualised and personalised. Everyone has different taste of technologies, as well as different need of technologies. In the aspect of Piracy, many new technologies foment such crime. Such as those products which have functions to rip, rewrite and record. People use these advanced technologies to produce their own copies. At this situation, people seem to find excuses for their deeds. Perhaps, piracy would be a non-stop issue before people finally realise it is not an accident. Thus, in order to avoid piracy every individual needs to take responsibility.

Privacy and Social Convergence on Facebook

2009-10-12T00:37:00.002+13:00

This course so far has mentioned a lot about online social websites, and a few weeks ago we discussed about the topic of privacy on the internet in regarding Facebook in particular. The reading by Danah Boyd “Facebook’s Privacy Trainwreck” really caught my eye as he suggested that this ‘gift’ of infinite social information is precious upfront but destructive long-term, issues that actually seem to be really related to me but that I’ve never been truly aware of.

Boyd talked about the issues regarding ‘News Feed’ on FB , and how it has made participants to reconsider any change they made due to the aggregation and broadcasting of information. I only started using FB last year when that feature had already been launched, and I have actually kind of taken the feature for granted as it provides me information about what people around me have been up to lately which kind of helps me bond better with them. Personally I don’t really feel and experience the feature as a problem with the loss of privacy but I do realize I have been reminding myself to take care when I make any actions on FB that I know will appear on the ‘News Feed’, which I really don’t do as much when interacting with others physically in the real world.

I found the idea of social convergence really interesting as well. Anna asked in the tutorial for us to just try and imagine how we’d feel if all the people we have ever known in our whole life were all gathered together in one room, and that was scary enough just to think about for me. Then it occurred to me that I have never really realized and thought about the case of my Facebook account, where I actually do have family, friends, and workmates all gathered together in one place. So after the tutorial that day, I ended up checking all over my FB for any inappropriate material, and hope that I have luckily untagged some of the pictures on there of myself in time:S…

Gender in blogging

2009-10-12T00:15:00.002+13:00

On week two lecture, we studied gender in blogging in various form, such as the way of access to the technology, different use of technology and sexist behavior in blog. I mainly talk about gender in blogging. Some research found that the different types of computer-mediated communication (CMC) are represented online. According Pedersen and Macafee’ s study, I concluded that similar numbers of men and women post blog but different behavior in blogging. Firstly, in profile picture of social networks, girls are more likely to post them pretty, seductive self-image emphasis on appearance of object. Whereas men demonstrated more technical sophistication in their car, cell phone, computer, emphasis on representing themselves through other objects. Then, they write blog in different directions. Males use shorter and more functional texts(less emotion, fewer salutations), in contrast, Females are more emotional self feeling. Furthermore, they interest also are distinct. Such as male are more interested in information and opinion, and female are more likely to use first person diary style.
There are some factors that may determine gender in blogging. First of all, sexist behavior is the main factors leading to an uncertain unisex blogger. Such as women and gay male bloggers more concerned about privacy or anonymity. And the interest of bloggers indicated by the theme and form of blog. Girls like love, romance theme as an example. Personally, (my QQ space) I usually use some romance theme in my blog. Thirdly, the content of the blog also demonstrate a blogger’s characters. I use lots of tools in my QQspace, such as I have QQ farm, QQ mini house, QQ music player, QQ exchange friends. These may be the most popular tools or games in girls. Finally, most of men are technical sophistication and value more feedback. Because most of women like commenting back to commenter, even there is no response on blogger.
Overall, gender in blogging research collect data of blogger behaviour on the internet, it contributes a basic key point of public with a potantial economic market.

Gender and New Media

2009-10-11T23:56:00.003+13:00

Regarding the 'gender and new media lecture', it has come to my mind that many people, mostly it is men, who lie about their gender. I do not really know the exact reason to why some people choose to lie in order to make friends or to chat to people, but it makes you wonder who you may really be chatting to 'on the other side of the screen'.

I also agree about what was mentioned in the lecture, that gender is largely about one's cultural identity, his or her behaviour and one's social expectations, and that it is not just biological or DNA based. therefore i believe that new media is not about gender neutral, and that both males and females use gender in new media to how they see it in the outside world and to what suits them. I remember that in the lecture we were looking at a couple of examples of girl and boy websites, and I certainly have to agree with Luke Goode on the fact that virtual online games represent boys and girls in the way they should be, and not only that but also the way they should behaive or act is also represented in the games. I remember when i was much younger, about the age of 12, I would go on a Barbie website and play all sorts of online games, and to me I would identify myself with this virtual figure, and see her as an ideal type of girl that i would like to become, and this is speaking from a very young girl's perspective. Even games such as 'War Crafts' I believe represent the idealistic male type, and the type that many if not all young boys want to look up to and be. I also feel that playing these games allow us to not just watch it, but we act in it, and thus the actions that we act online determines who we are and what gender we are offline. For example, usually guys who play War Crafts would choose male figures, not female. I have also found that new media does not put females at disadvantage, even though it may seem to be focused on the males, because these days we find all types of games that are for girls of all ages. I do however believe that gender representation is important in gaming, and the fact that these days women are represented as these goddesses, and the males as these heroic gods in such games are appealing, but on the other hand they can cause damage for many, as it makes them believe that this is how you should look like, and this is the way that you should behaive in the outside world. I do however agree on the fact that new media helps to reshape gender relations, and that it gives both the men and women, girls and boys, the advantage of not only discovering what is occuring around the world, but also discovering who they are.

Television in the digital age

2009-10-11T23:53:00.005+13:00

Piracy of television shows is a widespread practice, with episodes available on filesharing networks hours after premiering on television. The same issue is affecting the music and movie industries, but the difference is that television sales still operate on a regional model. Unlike movies or albums which usually have worldwide release within a month, television series are sold to individual networks who broadcast them at a later date - and that's if a network chooses to buy the program at all. In the age of the internet, for people seeking instant gratification, this is unacceptable, and so they turn to piracy.

By delaying broadcasts of a television series in other countries, networks essentially limit their audience. Especially in the case of returning series - many fans who are already invested in it would have already downloaded and watched it. This leads to lower ratings, and advertising fees for the network when it is eventually aired.

Delaying broadcasts also shuts international fans out of fan communities. For someone such as myself, who is "spoiler-phobic", trying to avoid reading about the current season of a series is becoming increasingly hard. Participation in fan culture is cut to a minimum to avoid coming across spoiler material. Since television is a medium which lends itself to speculation, with ongoing storylines and evolving characters, being unable to participate in the latest discussions ruins part of the collective experience that comes from being part of a fandom, especially for genre shows, where the number of fans are already fairly limited.

The industry needs to realise that once a program has been released in one region, it is impossible to stop it from leaking onto the internet - effectively releasing it in all regions. By minimising the delay between the original broadcast and a regional one, viewers may feel less inclined to download episodes of their favourite shows immediately, and choose to show their support by watching it live.

Internet Piracy and Stealing

2009-10-11T23:47:00.000+13:00

“You wouldn’t steal a car. You wouldn’t steal a handbag. You wouldn’t steal a television. You wouldn’t steal a movie. Downloading pirated films is stealing. It’s against the law. It’s a crime…”Every time when I trying to watch the DVD I bought, I get educated by this amazing advertising. This education maybe necessary, because although I still bought DVDs from stores, I have to admit that I did illegally download films online, just like many other people did. However, this advertising ignored some obvious questions. Why those people, who wouldn’t steal car, handbag, television etc, involved into Internet Piracy. Why the issue of Internet Piracy is so controversial, while there is no debate about stealing cars or handbags. There must be differences.

Artists such as composer and musicians were those ones who were generally portrayed as the victims of Internet Piracy, however, in the article “Online music sharing may benefit artists”, a professional musician Ian (2005) suggests that according to number professional viewpoints from NARAS,RIAA, when some songs were able to free download. It caused the singer more popular and sales of all her production increased. Ian also claimed that online music sharing may not benefits core record companies there is no evidence to prove it has harmed artists’ financial benefit, in contrast it actually benefits them with free exposure and many other ways. So, the greatest victim turns out is the core record companies of the industries, not the innocent artists who we were told all the time.

Another point is that the ones who benefit the most from Internet Piracy is not the people who download the film, music and software, but the information companies who provided these P2P software and websites. In other words, the money movies from the record companies’ pockets to the new information companies’. However, it the natural trend, when technology change the society. It is nothing different with the case that when electric lights invented, the candle started lose they business. Anthony Gorry (2003), the professor of management and computer science at Rice University claimed that the development of modern technology has changed people’s thoughts, whether the record companies accept it or not, the industries is facing a transformation that can not be stopped by lawsuit of any encryption technology. Sharing of Information technology is a trend. A better way for the industries to do is facing this fact and changing themselves to follow the trend, rather than blaming online sharing as a crime.

Gender Performance- Blogging

2009-10-11T23:30:00.001+13:00

I have been looking and comparing two fashion blog websites; one is written and looked after by a male (‘Isaac Likes’) and the other a female (Fashion Toast). I would like to discuss these two sites in regards to gender performance, and link it to Sarah Pederson and Caroline Macafee’s article: ‘Gender differences in British Blogging’. Their studies (Pederson and Macafee, 2007) have shown that the blogs by male users receive a much higher profile in the media and in other blog links. Pederson and Macafee (2007) also found that the differences between the sexes were found largely in three areas: “In their responses to the survey, women tended to describe themselves as more interested in the social aspects of blogging, while men tended to be more interested in information and opinion. Men demonstrated more technical sophistication. Privacy was a major issue for women (and also for gay bloggers of both sexes) (Pederson and Macafee, 2007).”

“Men are more avid consumers than women of online information while women are more enthusiastic online communicators” (Pederson and Macafee, 2007). The online blog site- ‘Isaac Likes’ has seen to receive much higher profile in the media, and in an article in the recent Pulp magazine; they have even deemed the author as being a New Zealand celebrity. This is because ‘Isaac Likes’ offers readers with much more information in the form of interviews with people within the industry, whereas ‘Fashion Toast’ takes on a diary style, the female writer writes in first person and presents photos of herself in almost all of the blog posts. It can also be seen that the author in ‘Fashion Toast’ also tries to present to the reader an image of being a socialite, there are many photos of herself and industry people. “Isaac Likes” provide readers with fashion news, interviews, scandal and celebrity encounters, this shows the male tendency to blog about information and opinions. By putting these two blogs side by side it is obvious that there is a gender difference, the page layout of ‘Isaac Likes’ is seen to be more sophisticated and well thought, whereas ‘Fashion Toast’ uses a simply layout that resembles a diary structure. It is also apparent that ‘Isaac Likes’ welcomes public opinions and comments on his blogs, and frequently replies to opinions that are posted. From these two blogs it is obvious that there is a gender difference in the way that the two sexes perform while blogging.

Piracy, theft or sharing?

2009-10-11T23:22:00.005+13:00

In an attempt to ward off piracy, downloadable digital content is often compared with tangible goods. Of course you wouldn’t steal a handbag. However, you would feel a lot different about "stealing" that handbag if you perceived it was in fact given to you.

I think the flipside of comparing reproducible content with tangible goods is that the intended notion of theft with regards to piracy could possibly get caught up in a perceived notion of sharing. For example, just as we would share a packet of chips or a bottle of coke with a friend we feel similarly inclined when it comes to sharing CDs, DVDs etc. Once we have purchased a copy of a copyrighted good, we feel we own it and thus can do anything with it. When a friend offers you a CD they have purchased in order to copy the music, we equate the copied content to the tangible CD which belongs to your friend, rather than an imagined duplicate CD we have ‘ripped’ off the artist. Similarly we accept a mixed CD given as a romantic gesture as a gift, rather than a compilation of pirated goods.

The flaw of equating intangible files with tangible goods is, as Yar (2008) identifies, tangible goods are a ‘one-time’ use thing. You may share your chips and bottle of coke but once it’s consumed it’s gone. However, when it comes to intangible files you can retain the original file, whilst sharing it to your hearts content. We can turn this notion on its head and consider what it would be like if you could reproduce tangible objects in the same way. You could walk into your local dairy, buy can of coke, replicate it into a six pack and share it with all your friends. Clearly this would thoroughly irritate the Coca Cola Company. I guess this is the imaginary idea such anti-piracy campaigns are trying to provoke, which I guess does make sense in a round-a-bout, trivial kind of way…

I believe copyright laws need to recognize that intangible goods are different from intangible goods and thus need to be treated differently. You can’t claim that music and video piracy is equivalent to stealing tangible goods and yet expect the rights to such content to continue once the content has been purchased. This speaks out against the rights of the consumer – once an object is purchased, we generally feel we have the right to do with it what we like, even if this is sharing it with a less well off friend who doesn’t have the means to purchase the item themselves. After all it would seem pretty ridiculous if you were fined for letting your friend have a sip of your coke or a handful of your chips.

Cyborg or Not, That is the Question

2009-10-11T23:19:00.004+13:00

When contemplating about the idea that somehow due to our dependence on technology in the modern era, discourses have arose regarding the idea that humans are becoming cyborgs: part human, part machine. In other words, technology is such an integral part of our lives now that it is actually a part of us. I cannot help but to disagree with such ideas. One, our heavy reliance on something does not make it part of us. Thinking back to before the invention of electricity, human kind existed for millions of years, surviving on basic human needs such as food, water, shelter and various emotional support. Those are the essences which make us human-beings. However after the invention and the widespread use of electricity, we can hardly imagine a world without it, because the convenience and luxury it brings. Human nature however has not changed due to it's existence. If one day we must face a lifestyle without electricty, no doubt it would be a tough one, we will however continue to survivor as per normal. In fact in many third world countries or rural areas of developing countries, the use of electricity has almost never really sunk in. People work during the day, when the sun sets, people simply go to bed. Entertainment and other enjoyment come from sources other than those made available by electricity. I think in this sense, it paints a clear picture that while technology has benefited us greatly, its disappearance would not mean the end of the human race.
My second point is that our reliance on technology differs greatly from person to person. Some of us make a living with the help of cellphones and computers, some of us can't stand to go a day without our iPods, while others totally reject such dependence, having no phone, no internet or no iPod. There is no denying that in today's society, the latter group of people would have a much harder time staying in touch with the rest. One may ask how do we even keep in touch with people who have no cellphone or a facebook account? But the truth is these people do exist and they are just as human as the rest of us. As much as we claim how "we'd die without our phone/iPod/laptop", the truth is we won't. It would perhaps cause us great amount of distress and discomfort, but we do continue to live like those that reject technology or those that lived before the invention of such technology. Cyborg however suggest a hybrid human, who is also part machine. The human side gives the cyborg life and personality, the technology side allows the expression of those human characteristics such as talk, walk etc. Losing either factor would mean the death of the cyborg, it may still be a machine, or a body, it would no longer be a cyborg, and it seems to me that humans will never reach such an extreme point. We haven't in the last few millions year, what makes this any different now?

"We don't need no (old-school) education"

2009-10-11T23:18:00.002+13:00

In an article by Steve Lohr, he writes about a new educational system for children in the United States called the National Educational Technology Plan (NETP). The new system is going to try and reproduce the one-on-one tutor system that is similar to the 16th century method of teaching. Only, instead of using actual human tutors, they are going to use computer programmes. With programmes such as NETP, children could be able to apply their work in simulated programmes, instead of using the old revise-and-regurgitate method of learning. This programme will not be put into schools overnight of course, and as Lohr writes, there are some doubts as to whether the programme will succeed due to high costs. “For all its promise to improve education, technology is still no match for one human tutoring another — which, of course, cannot be used to educate large numbers of students and is expensive.” But the idea does not seem too utopian as there are other programmes that have been incorporated into some of the schools educational syllabus. Whilst reading Majid Yar’s article from the reader I found myself thinking about his comment on the education system and the aims of the copyright industries. “Particularly worrying is the ease and effectiveness with which the copyright industries have co-opted the educational system as a collaborator in (re)educating children about copyright.” Whilst this is not the main point of the essay, of course, it did make me wonder why it was so easy for the copyright industries to incorporate their needs into an educational system. Whereas an education programme like NETP seems like an impossibility. If it was easy to incorporate these programmes into the children’s educational syllabus, then why are "costs" all of a sudden a problem? It can be argued that the copyright industries are privatized and would benefit financially from programmes that are trying to stop piracy. But surely a child’s education is just as important in an age where technologies are a ubiquitous part of society?

"We don't need no (old-school) education"

2009-10-11T23:18:00.000+13:00

In an article by Steve Lohr, he writes about a new educational system for children in the United States called the National Educational Technology Plan (NETP). The new system is going to try and reproduce the one-on-one tutor system that is similar to the 16th century method of teaching. Only, instead of using actual human tutors, they are going to use computer programmes. With programmes like these, children could be able to apply their work in simulated programmes, instead of using the old revise-and-regurgitate method of learning. This programme will not be put into schools overnight of course, and as Lohr writes, there are some doubts as to whether the programme will succeed due to high costs. “For all its promise to improve education, technology is still no match for one human tutoring another — which, of course, cannot be used to educate large numbers of students and is expensive.” But the idea does not seem too utopian as there are other programmes that have been incorporated into some of the schools educational syllabus. Whilst reading Majid Yar’s article from the reader I found myself thinking about his comment on the education system and the aims of the copyright industries. “Particularly worrying is the ease and effectiveness with which the copyright industries have co-opted the educational system as a collaborator in (re)educating children about copyright.” Whilst this is not the main point of the essay, of course, it did make me wonder why it was so easy for the copyright industries to incorporate their needs into an educational system. Whereas an education programme like NETP seems like an impossibility. If it was easy to incorporate these programmes into the children’s educational syllabus, then why are costs all of a sudden a problem? It can be argued that the copyright industries are privatized and would benefit financially from programmes that are trying to stop piracy. But surely a child’s education is just as important in an age where technologies are a ubiquitous part of society?

Girl With A One Track Mind and Female Sexuality

2009-10-11T23:13:00.004+13:00

Christina Aguilera sang "the guy gets all the glory, the more he can score, while the girl can do the same and yet you call her a whore". Though I'm not usually such a fan of Christina, this statement does hold obvious grains of truth. In the offline world, its socially acceptable for men to be as sexually active as they want. It's not that easy for women. Society dictates, even in this day and age (or at least, to some extent) that women should wear a certain amount of clothing, be kept away from sex until a certain age, only have a certain number of sexual partners etc. etc. etc. Basically the idea is that women should be kept at a 'safe' distance from sexual practice or discourse. Utopian cyber-feminists (and I suppose "optimistic" internet democrats alike) celebrate the internet as a place for women to escape the rules and restrictions of offline society. I think that the internet does allow women to express a more sexual side of themselves than what society deems "acceptable" of them (perhaps this is due to the anonymous potential of the net). When Luke mentioned the blog 'Girl With A One Track Mind' in the lecture a few weeks ago, I thought it sounded familiar (though I had never actually read a blog before) and I decided to check it out. Indeed, the blog offers a space for one anonymous woman (Abby Lee is an alias) to write about her sex life and her sexual desires (in a pretty explicit way). She talks about everything from her favorite sex toys to her dates: "..sitting there, in that café, with his lips against mine, had left me so horny that I wanted to fuck him then and there." Not the usual conversation most women would feel comfortable engaging with in the real world. And yet this particular post has received 56 comments to date. While there are certain taboos about what women can talk about in society, it certainly does seem that with blogs such as this, utopian cyber-feminists can rejoice in the fact that women get to acknowledge their sexuality and undo society's preference for "thinkin' all woman should be seen not heard" (Christina Aguilera).

One Laptop per Child:A revolutionary tool or too much false hope?

2009-10-11T22:59:00.002+13:00

Upon agreeing whole heartedly with Winston’s views about One Laptop per Child in “Let them eat their laptops: the limits of technicism,” I thought it only fair to read the views of the makers of One Laptop per Child. However, after thorough investigation of the One Laptop per Child website, I was able to reaffirm my prior beliefs that this project, although quite admirable, seems to give technology more credit than is due.

The mission statement for the project illustrates laptops as a necessity that will ultimately allow those in under-developed countries to be on par with the rest of the world. The foundation emphasizes that One Laptop per Child is “an education project,” (OLPC2 2009) an “[empowering]” (OLPC2 2009) tool if you will. The laptops are said to “[give] [children] a window to the outside world, access to vast amounts of information, a way to connect with each other, and a springboard into their future” (OLPC 2009). The project is claimed to be a revolutionary tool and that access to this tool will allow children to be “engaged in their own education.” (OLPC2 2009) Essentially this mission statement means that learning through new technology is the only way in which learning can be achieved. It seems rather premature to put so much hope into a plan that has never actually been tested, and to ignore traditional methods of teaching which have proven to be successful. Although learning with a computer may offer more opportunities that were previously unavailable, it is not justifiable to assume that computers are the only way to learn

The website does indeed offer “proof” that the project has worked over the past two years. According to the website, attendance in schools that have participated in One Laptop per Child has “increased dramatically” (OLPC 1) I find this statement problematic for two reasons. The first being is that the only notable good that One Laptop per Child has produced is an increase in attendance. If the project were to be working as expected, results such as increased test scores or increased knowledge of computing programs should be happening. The second reason is that like the mission statement which claims (in an implicit way) that computers are the only way to learn, the project fails to recognize that the increase in attendance may be because of the increase of better qualified teachers. According to the One Laptop per Child wiki, the foundation organizes workshops for teachers to attend to familiarize them with the new laptops. However, these workshops not only teach the how-to’s of a computer but also other beneficial things such as “learning and child development”, “teacher development,” and “curriculum, content and materials in 1-to-1 environments” (The OLPC Wiki 2009) Thus because teachers gain more knowledge about teaching, they would be able to teach the children better. However, this fact is completely ignored, and all the glory is yet again given to the laptops.

My tad too critical assessment of One Laptop per Child may paint me out to be a technophobiac but really I am a firm believer in technology. However, I also believe that computers are a luxury not a necessity (although in modern day, and in developed countries, they do seem like a necessity). Instead of spending millions (if not billions) of dollars manufacturing and distributing laptops for better education, it seems more wise to spend the money on training teachers and bettering school environments.

Works Cited

"Deployment Guide/Teacher Preparation Student Facilitation - OLPC." The OLPC Wiki - OLPC. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. .

"One Laptop per Child (OLPC): Children." One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a low-cost, connected laptop for the world's children's education. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. .

"One Laptop per Child (OLPC): Mission." One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a low-cost, connected laptop for the world's children's education. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. .

Sexuality and intimacy online

2009-10-11T22:53:00.002+13:00

by Zhou Jiang
I agree with Giddens that 'intimacy at a distance' is accompanied by 'proximity without intimacy'. It does seem that people have less contact with their neighbours while being in great contact with whose far away. We should remember, however, that many people, especially women, used to maintain correspondence by regular post for many years or decades with old friends and relatives who they had not seen in person for years.

There is a difference between intimacy and the disclosure of intimate information. Nowadays some young people post information about their intimate lives on the net, but that does not mean that they experience intimacy with the people they disclose the information to. Indeed, it might be because the readers of this information are strangers or mere acquaintances that people feel like disclosing so much. Many online contacts do not last long.

Arvidsson's study of the Match.com dating website reminds us that the disclosure a certain amount of intimate information can be as much of a tactic as genuine attempt to reach out intimately.

Spink et al's study finds a decline in sex-related inquiries. This many be because those who want pornography know where to find it already. It is possible that the internet is settling more and more its inches- different groups of users all have their own interests and their might be less 'generalist' searching and more searches for very specific information or web names.

Reference Lists:

Arvidsson, A. (2006). Quality Singles: Internet dating and the work of fantasy. New Media and Society, 8 (4), 671-690.

Giddens, A. (1992). The Transformation of Intimacy: sexuality, love, and eroticism in modern societies. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

Spink,A., Partridge, H.,& Hansen, B.J. (2006). Sexual and pornographic web searching. First Monday, 11 (9).

robots, love and grannys?

2009-10-11T22:50:00.002+13:00

Recently on the news there has been several reports of robots taking over everyday human activities. While news like this is hardly surprising two things were. One for being "love and sex" robots and the other for robots to take care of the elderly. While the sex robot is something that might be made the robots for elderly is something that is apparently already in a work in progress. This got me thinking. Is it right to leave granny or grandad in the care of robots? The way I see it, seems like careless abandonment. While sure they maybe be able to clean around the house and so forth but what about emotional needs? If Granny is feeling down a robot maybe programmed to say "that's too bad" but they can not really give emotional support to a human. It was surprising to hear about something that it was already a plan in motion. Now while I realise this may not have much to do about the classes it is still technology within the media and for all we know it may affect us in the near or far future (seems nearer really) I at least know that I will not be leaving my Grandmother..or my parents for that matter in the care of robots.

Female vs. Male

2009-10-11T22:44:00.004+13:00

I was looking through Facebook at the gender differences there are in blogging.
The differences I identified were 1) images and 2) status updates/wall posts.

Firstly, female images are alot different from male images on social networking sites such as Facebook. Scrolling through my friends list i noticed that many of the girls photos are posed and positioned (usually individual photos of themselves, you know the hand held camera pouching lips shot) either individually or in a posed girl group from a night/day out in comparison to the guys photos who are usually in a group of other guys who are either doing something either dangerous and immature, posing very staunch... otherwise, its not even a photo of themself, it would be of their favourite rap artist, a wrestler or a gadget. one of my male friends has a display picture of a balaclava and another has a photo of Mariah Carey and a photoshoped picture of him next to her saying "why you so obsessed wit me?". From looking at various images on facebook between girls and boys, it showed me how actively social interactive females are in comparison to guys - You dont see those kinda photos on girls pages, girls usually choose the best photo of themself to present themself nicely online, whereas guys tend to show their character through there photos. I asked my male friend who tends to use funny photos as his display pic why he doesnt put a photo of himself up, and all he said was "why should I? its funny, and everyone always comments on them. its crack up man!"

Secondly, wall posts are veerrry different between males and females, i looked through a couple of friends pages to see what their wall posts were like (without seeming too nosey). The female posts were very detailed. One friend put on her status "_____ thinks its hillarious how _____ hooked up with _____" and under this status update there was a looong conversation between the person who put it up, and another girl discussing this matter. and between the comments a guy posted "why do you girls expose your private lives on facebook?, dont you have phones to text each other this kind of stuff?". Very true! Obviously they are aware that there conversation about these particular people are being publicly displayed and shared with their friends see this on the newsfeed - so were they wanting attention?. Males on the other hand, dont seem to have regular status updates unless its about the Rugby league, a fight or something which seems very 'manly'. I checked a few other guy mates pages and their Recent activity all seem to connect to Mafia Wars or Poker - I guess males use social networking sites for virtual activity, where females (even though some are very attached to applications such as farmville and sorority life) seem to socially interact with (well on my friends i noticed) their friends online about the weekend.

I didnt realise how different female and males interacted on these sites before my analysis. Females are very interactive in terms with keeping up to date with their friends, whereas males are more for the fun of social networking sites and experiencing facebooks wonderful list of games online! (but i guess thats what my facebook friends are like). After all this examining i decided to change my display picture to something which showed my character... but then after a minute a thought.. nahh.. this makes my profile look ugly. back to the girl group picture!

Privacy in using Google account

2009-10-11T22:03:00.001+13:00

One of our classmates mentioned that Gmail context-sensitive advertisement in tutorial, which makes me concerned about the privacy in our email. I used hotmail for ages and recently I signed a Google account for publishing post in blogger, and I found that it’s so convenient to own a Google account, which is functional and various tool for users. I think that is the reason why so many people have a Google account. iGoogle also has been personalized in my setting. There are BBC News, YouTube, weather in Auckland and a web game on my iGoogle. As people always said I search from the internet to nowadays I Google something on the web. The big difference is the Google already become a mainstream search engine. Why is Google？ I use Google scholar to search books for a research essay. It can adds any book to my digital library. It saves lots of time to go to the university library. And Google translate also helps me read some second language books much easy. However, Gmail is also my new landand not discovered fully. I never write any personal information or private message to people because it’s not necessary to consider about its privacy. As context-sensitive ads become a new tendency used in our mails, I would like to say our privacy has been digitalized and analyzed from words transfer to a number. Its physically transform which make me have a deep think. Even Google company said they will never publish our privacy or protect our privacy at the first place, how can I know if it is true. Although, we use email to contact and communicates with our friends, and I don’t like my content being highlighted and auto-send similar contents to you. It looks like our privacy little secret space infringed and opened by ‘watcher’.therefore, I have to suggest that we need a real privacy in life.