If you want to have your own website, you need to purchase a domain name, (i.e. www.yourname.com) and sign up for a hosting service. When you first sign up with a hosting service they often give you a free domain name, so I would recommend choosing the host first and then see what deals they offer on domain names.
Here are some popular hosting services:
http://www.hostgator.com
http://www.godaddy.com
http://www.bluehost.com/
http://www.greengeeks.com/
There are many others available and it is good to do some research. Once you sign up with a company, they should send you the information to plug into the "Manage Sites" window in DreamWeaver. Remember your homepage needs to be called index.html and should be saved in your root folder. Then you upload your files just as we have been doing this semester.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Another Tutorial Page
http://flash-effects.com/
In searching for tutorials and such to find ideas for the final project, came across this site. There are a few cool ones I saw, but in case anybody needed anymore ideas, here you go!
-Derek Applegate
In searching for tutorials and such to find ideas for the final project, came across this site. There are a few cool ones I saw, but in case anybody needed anymore ideas, here you go!
-Derek Applegate
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Locative Media
Locative Media -- How have new technologies changed our sense of space (personal and private), location and community?
New technologies are a commodity that we might take for granted, but at the same time it has changed our sense of space. Since the creation of smart phones with GPS chips in them, personally I feel the world has become a smaller place. The advantage of course is that we may get to learn about places we'd never be able to go, however with technologies like GPS, digital photography, etc., these places seem too familiar. For example, I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights in person, but it has become so easy with technology to be able to witness the crazy sight on a computer with live streaming or pictures, which I feel can sometimes take away from uniqueness. As far as personal space, it has become too easy for others to be able to follow you, especially when involved in talks about big brother/always being watched.
If I were at a bar one night and introduced myself to somebody as Derek, a Temple student, it has become to easy for that person to be able to find me on sites like Facebook, and eventually find out all this other information about me. The scariest part becomes when people use the GPS chips in their phone to "check-in" at locations. For an odd reason, these sorts of technologies have become like a friend us, in which we (now subconsciously?) share information with, sometimes not thinking of exactly how many people might be able to see that "Derek has checked in at home"... with my complete address and conveniently a little map showing exactly where that is.
New technologies have made personal and private space more scarce, of course for those who want it. For others, it can be a way to get attention. A friend I used to work with constantly fills up my Facebook newsfeed whenever I log on, checking it at every single location she goes to, and even though people will comment and ask her nicely to stop, she takes advantage of it as a way to meet new people or get attention from those able to see the information. Needless to say, not only Facebook and GPS chips are to blame for this, as any new technology always seems to change communities, more specifically the ways people communicate, or watch, with one-another.
Derek Applegate
Blog # 3 -- Kathleen Welter
Locative Media -- How have new technologies changed our sense of space (personal and private), location and community?
Locative media describes a set of locations based on different types of technology. This would include wireless networks, surveillance, tracking and positioning tools. All those have allowed information to be tied to some sort of geographical space. Although today, that space is no longer personal or private because everyone and anyone could find someone’s location. For instance, there is now a “check in” tool on Facebook which allows all of your friends to be able to see what you’re doing and where you’re doing it. There is no sense of privacy anymore due to these tools.
However, these new technologies haven given some people some good advantages. Some tools such as Google maps or Google earth have allowed some people to discover new places visually. Although, it might be hard to differentiate between online visuals and reality, but that depends on the person using the tools. During the This American Life podcast describing mapping gave viewers a new sense of community. Actually it seemed to bring communities together. The mapping done in some communities had tracked specific events such as the pumpkins distributed in some homes or tracking leaves which gave each community something unique to share with one another therefore bringing everyone closer together.
Locative media describes a set of locations based on different types of technology. This would include wireless networks, surveillance, tracking and positioning tools. All those have allowed information to be tied to some sort of geographical space. Although today, that space is no longer personal or private because everyone and anyone could find someone’s location. For instance, there is now a “check in” tool on Facebook which allows all of your friends to be able to see what you’re doing and where you’re doing it. There is no sense of privacy anymore due to these tools.
However, these new technologies haven given some people some good advantages. Some tools such as Google maps or Google earth have allowed some people to discover new places visually. Although, it might be hard to differentiate between online visuals and reality, but that depends on the person using the tools. During the This American Life podcast describing mapping gave viewers a new sense of community. Actually it seemed to bring communities together. The mapping done in some communities had tracked specific events such as the pumpkins distributed in some homes or tracking leaves which gave each community something unique to share with one another therefore bringing everyone closer together.
Locative Media
Question #3 – Locative Media – how have new technologies changed our sense of space (personal and private), location and community?
New technologies have changed our sense of personal and private space in many ways. One way is by allowing us to engage in some sort of communication from far and short distances. An example would be the telephone; the phone allows us to talk with computers and with each other at our own convenience. Today programs like SKYPE, and many of our hand held wireless phones are used in the same way as a land line phone but with more functions. One function is Goble Positioning System with GPS your location is tracked and recorded for various reasons. A good example would be the North Star System for GPS travel in cars; this system will call for help if needed automatically in an event of an accident. The military uses it to navigate and locate vital object while in and out theater. Consumers today use it as entertainment by redirecting their intended uses into either art of studies for new media. While using locative media in so many different ways a map has been made and the space around us becomes more familiar or realized to be in existents, therefore the way communication takes place and why is changing.
Montes Carrasquillo
New technologies have changed our sense of personal and private space in many ways. One way is by allowing us to engage in some sort of communication from far and short distances. An example would be the telephone; the phone allows us to talk with computers and with each other at our own convenience. Today programs like SKYPE, and many of our hand held wireless phones are used in the same way as a land line phone but with more functions. One function is Goble Positioning System with GPS your location is tracked and recorded for various reasons. A good example would be the North Star System for GPS travel in cars; this system will call for help if needed automatically in an event of an accident. The military uses it to navigate and locate vital object while in and out theater. Consumers today use it as entertainment by redirecting their intended uses into either art of studies for new media. While using locative media in so many different ways a map has been made and the space around us becomes more familiar or realized to be in existents, therefore the way communication takes place and why is changing.
Montes Carrasquillo
Blog Post 3: The Internet and Personal Space
I think it is wonderful that people from all over the world, given a common language, can come together and talk. Of course, there are geographical constraints, like time zones. But it is easy enough to find an insomniac in Asia to talk to or to be an insomniac who ends up talking to someone just waking up in England. So, to me, language barriers plus the inequality in socioeconomic classes (who owns a computer; who doesn't?) end up being a greater obstacle than physical space.
Of course, sometimes, there's a dark side to this ease of access: Is this person really who they claim to be? This can lead to many problems.
In that vein, it's really interesting for me to see how people have shifted from being anonymous at all times to swapping Facebook pages tied to their real names. In the past, the Internet was the scary place where a pedophile, known only by his AIM screen name, would try to hit on your 10 year old daughter. You never gave out your real name - at most, you would only give out your first name, but people usually went by aliases. Today, the Internet is a place where respectable businessmen engage in social networking using their full names. People post their cell phone numbers online, which was once unthinkable and very taboo.
I do, however, feel that some newcomers forget that the Internet is a public space. For example, on Facebook, one of my friends asked me a question about substance use using the new Questions feature. This was inappropriate because any number of my Facebook contacts could have seen the exchange occurring. This also happens when people do things like post pictures of themselves doing keg stands online. When posting things on the Internet, I try to remember that everybody in the world could potentially see it.
Also, personally, the Internet has been great for connecting with other Deaf people. The Deaf community used to be a lot more tied to geography. I knew zero people who were Deaf when I was growing up; I still don't know a lot. Today, however, I can join Youtube and vlog in ASL to communicate with other ASL speakers. There are even Deaf messageboards that are based entirely upon video: A person posts something, then a person films a video response using a webcam, and so forth. This is just amazing and makes me feel as if we are moving out of a dark age of communication and into a new era of interacting with each other.
-DJ Crosby
Of course, sometimes, there's a dark side to this ease of access: Is this person really who they claim to be? This can lead to many problems.
In that vein, it's really interesting for me to see how people have shifted from being anonymous at all times to swapping Facebook pages tied to their real names. In the past, the Internet was the scary place where a pedophile, known only by his AIM screen name, would try to hit on your 10 year old daughter. You never gave out your real name - at most, you would only give out your first name, but people usually went by aliases. Today, the Internet is a place where respectable businessmen engage in social networking using their full names. People post their cell phone numbers online, which was once unthinkable and very taboo.
I do, however, feel that some newcomers forget that the Internet is a public space. For example, on Facebook, one of my friends asked me a question about substance use using the new Questions feature. This was inappropriate because any number of my Facebook contacts could have seen the exchange occurring. This also happens when people do things like post pictures of themselves doing keg stands online. When posting things on the Internet, I try to remember that everybody in the world could potentially see it.
Also, personally, the Internet has been great for connecting with other Deaf people. The Deaf community used to be a lot more tied to geography. I knew zero people who were Deaf when I was growing up; I still don't know a lot. Today, however, I can join Youtube and vlog in ASL to communicate with other ASL speakers. There are even Deaf messageboards that are based entirely upon video: A person posts something, then a person films a video response using a webcam, and so forth. This is just amazing and makes me feel as if we are moving out of a dark age of communication and into a new era of interacting with each other.
-DJ Crosby
Blog Post 3
The idea behind space, personal and private is something that is in a state of flux at this present time. The boundaries between what is considered private and personal information have just about faded away in our hyper connect online culture. With the aid of the Internet and “smart” phones, the line between spaces, both personal and private becomes blurred. The distortion of space is what is breaking down geophysical limitations.
As individuals share more information about themselves and their everyday lives, they aid in breaking down the space that they inhabit into a shared environment. With the technologies present today, people are able to “tap” into this information with ease. A person in Japan can share a picture of an event accruing right this moment and have them geo tagged and uploading to Flickr.com. Another person in Canada can view them seconds after they are taken, and see exactly where the event took place what time it happened at and with the use of Google earth, can view the surrounding environment where the photo accrued all while they sit at their desk.
The information captured in just one photo is enough to break down the idea behind space. Online environments, especially MMO games are just another step in completely removing the tangible world from this idea. The Internet can be used as a “global” space, were there are no defined walls. As the walls break down so does the idea of space.
Locative Media
Technologies have done a few things in relation to space and the community that have changed culture and accessibility. For starters the internet allows people to travel virtually to anywhere on the entire planet. I personally feel that this is both good and bad. For exploratory and curiousity reasons its a good thing. It allows people to learn more about the world around them. Although its benificiall to be able to explore space in such a fashion I think that its also a bad thing. Rather than going out and seeing the world for ones self I feel that most people are satisfied enough with just looking at it from a pc monitor which is kind of sad. When talking about community similar ideas apply. Yes the internet is a great tool for quickly bringing people together to share things and to be in communication with each other, but I feel we are to dependent of it. Am I saying we should all start mailing each other the old fashion way, no of course not; but the fact that we have job interviews and business meetings over the internet is just plain silly to me. Humans loose that level of interpersonal communication when they do everything over the internet. So the question is then; where is the happy balance in technologies where it remains healthy for the users? I'm not quite sure. -Mike Markloff
Monday, April 11, 2011
Andrew Valentino - Locative Media
The entire concept of space, as perceived in a geometric sense, is completely altered to the point of being moot with locative media and other forms of internet communication. Largely because you can contact anyone else in the world who has an internet connection, community becomes less about the people who are physically around us and more about the people with whom we choose to associate. Also, distance is not much of an issue because someone can immediately go from Reading, Pennsylvania to Chonhyizhen in China within a matter of second with locative tools such as Google Earth. Rather, the sense of place is more about the visual characteristics than anything else in most cases, and as a result a lot of the character of the location is lost (even the visuals are limited by the edges of the image.) Though locative media can help you get to know a place better from a visual standpoint, and to a certain extent, a spatial standpoint, there really is no substitute for being there and simply experiencing the place. On the other hand, locative media works well as a tool for augmenting information in relation to spatial characteristics, or even in creating new fictional locations.
-Andrew Valentino
-Andrew Valentino
Locative Media in Minecraft - Josh Ferrell
I thought I would share this with you all as it applies with the subject of the blogs due tomorow.
If you have any love for the internet gaming community, chances are you've heard of Minecraft, a online multiplayer space to mine for materials and then build with them. Some communities have taken to using this space to their advantage. One community in particular, Video Game Awesome, have weekly build challenges to see what their community can do in a short space of time.
Here are the results:
- The Yetti
Josh Ferrell Blog 3
As we a saw in the Second Life presentation the creation of new technologies has created a yearning for a different kind of space. No longer the space of objective static existence but a space in which the brush of individuality of each person can change the scenery for passing eyes. In these spaces the Theory of Dérive is fully in effect, people’s movements through this cyber space have no destinational purpose but rather a way of shaping a previously unshaped world. As such the idea of community as it is defined must changed with the space. Along with the space, Identity has entered a space where it can be as transformative as the space around them. People can indulge in curiosities and on a whim indulge their innermost desires. However the community aspect of this space suffers somewhat under the throws of transformative identity. While each individual can actualize his innermost desires, this means that the rest of the world can as well and thus the feeling of familiarity that one should feel in a community is shaken. However I have seen countless examples of people pulling together to create amazing works of art. Essentially in order for the Idea of community in this space to work the idea of concrete Identity must be suspended, and when it is amazing things occur.
Locative Media
Technology has changed everything – the way we communicate, the way we acquire knowledge, the way we express ourselves, and the way we locate people, places and things. As Ben Russell states, “As cell phones become internet-enabled and location aware, everything in the real world gets tracked, tagged, barcoded and mapped.” This new technology allows us the ability to reorganize and reshape the world around us. We can view a location in terms of the number of gas stations within a particular set of boundaries or in regards to its distance from a particular point of destination. We can allow others to know our location and enter our private space, by using apps such as Four Square and “checking in.”
Everything gets mapped – even things we wouldn’t otherwise think to map or expect to see mapped. This is shown in the This American Life podcast. We can map things that can be seen, heard, touched, tasted, and even smelled. For instance, the number of pumpkins set out for Halloween or the ambient sound in an office can be mapped. Locative media allows us to step outside the box of traditional cartographic mapping and map those things in space that we consider “unmappable.” Community can be viewed differently depending on what it is we are mapping. We may map the houses with children living in them and find a community of parents. We could also map the same neighborhood and determine the community in terms of socioeconomic status. As technology advances, so will our ability to map and change the way we experience place.
-Tracy Galloway
Blog 3 - Locative Technologies
In recent years, technology has given us the power to relay our space and location to whomever we desire. Mobile devices and the Internet have taken this phenomenon to a whole new level. It is now possible to publicize your every location, if you do so wish. Facebook recently created this new “check-ins” feature that allows people to say where they are. People mostly use the cell phones to take advantage of this feature. People also use their phones to take photos or videos of where they are or what they are doing, and send these files to their friends and families. The main reason that these technologies are being used is to stay in touch with your loved ones. If someone is traveling, and they want to keep their friends up to date on their travels, it is now possible to do. Facebook has really captured the essence of what people want to do: uploading pictures of vacations, “checking in” to places, and there is even an application that tells people every country you have ever been to. I look for in the future, for technology to do things that are beyond our most creative thoughts. Given that I’m a Computer Science major, I’m very excited for the impact that technology will have on our sense of space and location in the future.
--Jesse Steinberg--
Blog #3: Locative Media:
New technologies have changed our sense of space, location, and community because its so easy to now know who is where. It's kind of creepy how the information is out there for anyone to see. The information is too public. With programs like Foursquare and being able to "check-in" to different locations on it and on Facebook, people are more willing to expose their location. Giving out this information gives a sense of community because you're willing to let people know where they are and what they’re doing, sort of telling people to join them. Not all locative media is necessarily creepy. Having all this information in the palm of your hand has changed our sense of location because we have apps that allow us to access a map any where we are. Finding directions or finding a place to go for dinner can be done in a matter of seconds. Our sense of location is now limitless because we can easily find out how to get from one place to the next. The Bike Box Locative project, I mentioned on the blog previously, and the projects that were highlighted in class have also changed our sense of community because it makes us aware of the people around us and how the space we are in gives people different experiences. I enjoy those kinds of locative media projects because they are educational and community driven, but those projects like Foursquare, although beneficial to the locations where people “check-in”, become somewhat of an evasion of privacy which I do not think is a good idea.
~Karina Avellaneda~
Brian Chirls, Ok Go and HTML5
Brian Chirls is a filmmaker, technologist and founder of Three Eyed Labs, a research and development lab based in New York. He has created several web based art projects to demonstrate new web technologies.
Here’s a demo using HTML5 video with a pair of videos by the band Ok Go.
The new-ish video features of HTML5 allow Javascript code enough control over embedded videos to get two of them playing in sync. Otherwise, they work just like images, so it’s easy enough to stretch and move them around.
http://code.chirls.com/whiteknuckles/
How it works:
http://chirls.com/2011/01/13/what-im-working-on-synchronized-videos-in-html5-featuring-ok-go/
Here’s a demo using HTML5 video with a pair of videos by the band Ok Go.
The new-ish video features of HTML5 allow Javascript code enough control over embedded videos to get two of them playing in sync. Otherwise, they work just like images, so it’s easy enough to stretch and move them around.
http://code.chirls.com/whiteknuckles/
How it works:
http://chirls.com/2011/01/13/what-im-working-on-synchronized-videos-in-html5-featuring-ok-go/
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
SubMap 2.0: ebullition
SubMap 2.0: ebullition from Kitchen Budapest on Vimeo.
Ebullition visualises and sonificates data pulled from one of the biggest news sites of Hungary, origo.hu. The work is part of the project SubMap, which deals with subjective mapping of cities and countries.
One frame is one day, and on one day many things can happen. Depending on how many times a day the name of a city or a village is mentioned on the site, the map of Hungary dynamically distorts according to that number. The sound follows and sonfies that visual outcome, creating a generative ever changing drone.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Locative Media
This project is called "fortysomething", and is an audio project. It involves someone walking around Graz, which is a city in Austria, and going to different places. They carry a bag that has a GPS and PDA. Depending on where the participant goes, they will hear different stories on the site they are currently at. This may be a store, an art exhibit, mural, etc. It is called "fortysomething", because they are celebrating the forty-year anniversary of Steirischer Herbst and they interviewed more around people for the audio version of the project. I thought it sounded pretty cool, given the technology used. You can find more information on it here:
Fortysomething
--Jesse Steinberg--
Fortysomething
--Jesse Steinberg--
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Bike Box Locative project
Check out this video and the rest of the website for more information on the Bike Box project that took place last July.
http://www.sabinegruffat.com/BIKEBOX/?page_id=268
This is an interesting locative project that incorporates biking and technology (iphone) to create a way to explore the city in which people reside in. This is what their 'concept' section says about it:
http://www.sabinegruffat.com/BIKEBOX/?page_id=268
This is an interesting locative project that incorporates biking and technology (iphone) to create a way to explore the city in which people reside in. This is what their 'concept' section says about it:
Concept
If each stage of urban development adds another layer of brick and mortar to a city’s foundations, it also excises a layer of lived experience and memory. The bulldozer’s blade cuts both ways, after all, clearing the ground for something new as it covers up something old: old patterns of land use, as well as old sets of civic histories and personal connections. Sometimes, the history attached to a site is preserved. And sometimes, it is buried away, waiting to be uncovered.
To facilitate this historical retrieval, we propose a living archive: an ongoing interactive database of storytelling and sound art, recorded and disseminated via a locative media bicycle project. Partly inspired by community bike projects such as The Yellow Bikes in the U.S.A., Vélib in Paris, and Citybike in Vienna, and mobile art projects such as Banff New Media Institute’s “Tracklines” project, we would like to create a prototype of the Bike Box, a circulating bicycle library, oral history research center, and exhibition space. The purpose of the Bike Box is to give a city’s residents access to technology-enhanced bicycles in order to assist and encourage the exploration and interpretation of their urban environment. As avid cyclists, we believe a bicycle is the best vehicle for urban reconnaissance. A bike rider can cover a lot of ground while still maintaining the maneuverability and 360-degree viewpoint of someone on foot. Cycling allows for both slow contemplation and fast getaways.
As part of our preparatory work, we are inviting local land-use experts, historians, poets, artists and interpreters of all types to curate or contribute audio that is linked to sites of personal interest, historical significance, or social concern. These audio pieces will be geotagged and uploaded to the Bike Box database. In the end, we hope to create a continuous network of audio recordings: an aural map of the city that will illuminate the built environment as well as the hidden layers of history, memory, and narrative that underlie it. The Bike Box will be a way for residents and visitors alike to show each other around the city and to tell each other stories about the places they share.
~Karina Avellaneda~
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Cognitive Landscape Project
This site has some interesting locative media/mapping projects.
http://thecognitivelandscapeproject.tumblr.com/
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Pogo
Check out Pogo's YouTube page. He remixes Disney animated films and has a few other cool remixes as well. Awesome stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/user/Fagottron#p/u/7/mbD5ke7xqww
-Tracy Galloway
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Devon Golde- Blog Entry 2
---In today's digital world, the true meaning of authorship has become more vague than ever. Any original work published to the internet can be copied and altered by the masses at their convenience. So what does this mean for those that have created original works and use the inter-webs as their only means to share them? Well anyone with access to the internet can access millions of pieces of user-created content. Some times people take this content and "remix" it to make their own content to create something new. However they haven't created any actual new content, just reimagined the old. It is hard to say in this situation who the author is of the new work. Is it the one who created the original work, or is it the one who used that for their own agenda? The maker of the new material has created something, but technically hasn't created something brand new, instead using someone else's work for their own. So is this person now the new author or a collaborator? Either way that person will likely take full credit for their new work, even if it's not entirely their own.
---This accessibility to technology like the internet allows for people to have a seemingly limitless amount of content and information whenever they please. People can find almost any information they are looking for just by typing a few words and can find any user-content and see it from anywhere in the world. The internet has most definitely taken any geographical boundaries out of the equation. One can talk to someone just as easily down the street as they can someone three-thousand miles away. And as such, location doesn't seem to be as much of a factor as it used to. Now we can all be in the same place-hearing the same news, the same gossip, the same content- and that place is the internet. Whereas only a few years ago location was a huge factor in who you are, now it seems that we are all just global citizens, people of the internet. We are becoming more of a global culture, as well. Being able to access the same content, to communicate to anywhere in the world, we have ceased to be separate people from separate places. Instead we have become one and the internet has brought us together, made us one. It has changed the way we live, act, and communicate. It has changed not only our culture, but the very foundations of culture itself.
---This accessibility to technology like the internet allows for people to have a seemingly limitless amount of content and information whenever they please. People can find almost any information they are looking for just by typing a few words and can find any user-content and see it from anywhere in the world. The internet has most definitely taken any geographical boundaries out of the equation. One can talk to someone just as easily down the street as they can someone three-thousand miles away. And as such, location doesn't seem to be as much of a factor as it used to. Now we can all be in the same place-hearing the same news, the same gossip, the same content- and that place is the internet. Whereas only a few years ago location was a huge factor in who you are, now it seems that we are all just global citizens, people of the internet. We are becoming more of a global culture, as well. Being able to access the same content, to communicate to anywhere in the world, we have ceased to be separate people from separate places. Instead we have become one and the internet has brought us together, made us one. It has changed the way we live, act, and communicate. It has changed not only our culture, but the very foundations of culture itself.
Blog 2 -- Kathleen Welter
Question #2 – Remix and Open Source Culture – What impact has digital technology had on issues of authorship, access to technology and means of cultural production?
According to Lev Manovich’s article Remixability and Modularity, our digital technology has had a dramatic increase in accessing information. He explained this concept by using geography features. Think technology as a mountain top and mountains usually have streams running down them. As the water or streams increase their speed, they are able to find different paths. This is applied to our technology today because when you think about it, technology and information keep growing and as they keep growing, they find different paths that all connected similar to streams on a mountain. These paths can go into different directions and can be manipulated or remixed. These paths of information go through a transformative process that can be organized, shared, or combine new forms of information therefore, increases our means of accessing different types of technology.
Also in Remixabilty and Modularity, Manovich compared issues of cultural production to mass production. He explained that we’re still living in a mass production era. Actually, we’re already on our way out. But it has been our way of life since 1913 when Ford distributed his first factory car. Because one lives in an industrial society, does that mean that modularity in contemporary culture lags behind industrial modularity, responsible for mass production? According to Manovich, no. Simply, that cultural modularity or production seems to be governed by a different logic. Meaning it has different standards and not everything is “built in.”
Authorship is a difficult subject with digital technology because there is now a thing called intellectual property. An example of this can be the origin of Facebook. Mark Zukerberg, the designer used his own software to design Facebook, however it wasn’t his idea. So how can one put authorship on an idea? This is where intellectual property comes into play and was used against Zukerberg. Because digital technology has been expanded upon, so does the means of authorship.
According to Lev Manovich’s article Remixability and Modularity, our digital technology has had a dramatic increase in accessing information. He explained this concept by using geography features. Think technology as a mountain top and mountains usually have streams running down them. As the water or streams increase their speed, they are able to find different paths. This is applied to our technology today because when you think about it, technology and information keep growing and as they keep growing, they find different paths that all connected similar to streams on a mountain. These paths can go into different directions and can be manipulated or remixed. These paths of information go through a transformative process that can be organized, shared, or combine new forms of information therefore, increases our means of accessing different types of technology.
Also in Remixabilty and Modularity, Manovich compared issues of cultural production to mass production. He explained that we’re still living in a mass production era. Actually, we’re already on our way out. But it has been our way of life since 1913 when Ford distributed his first factory car. Because one lives in an industrial society, does that mean that modularity in contemporary culture lags behind industrial modularity, responsible for mass production? According to Manovich, no. Simply, that cultural modularity or production seems to be governed by a different logic. Meaning it has different standards and not everything is “built in.”
Authorship is a difficult subject with digital technology because there is now a thing called intellectual property. An example of this can be the origin of Facebook. Mark Zukerberg, the designer used his own software to design Facebook, however it wasn’t his idea. So how can one put authorship on an idea? This is where intellectual property comes into play and was used against Zukerberg. Because digital technology has been expanded upon, so does the means of authorship.
Josh Ferrell Blog 2
In this modern age the idea of authorship has come under the microscope. In the age where pirating has replaced consumerism how do you differentiate between the pirate and the artist. This question permeates the use of digital technology, often misused. But for better or worse the definition of authorship at least has changed. As we saw the world can be bent and pixilated and molded into the will of the artist. Digital technology has taken the art of Warhol and given us the tools to produce it in seconds. As such, cultural production exists in an age of postmodernism. Taking what has been true in culture in time past and giving it new life and new meaning, reflecting our culture of recyclable past. The accessibility of this technology has also lead the wider expansion of this idea. But with every good comes bad. Technology that allows us to grab pieces of art from the web has lead to a war on piracy and an explosion thereof. Yet completed culture is still the malleable clay in the clever artist’s hands, and all can be made into new art.
Montes Carrasquillo
Question #2 – Remix and Open Source Culture – What impact has digital technology had on issues of authorship, access to technology and means of cultural production?
Digital technology has had a big impact on authorship when one thinks of the internet. Digital technology has changed the way communication takes place between people and allows for reproduction of many things that are now made copy ready for the consumer. Because the consumer changes the original copy into a different meaning when viewed or heard or felt the consumer then clams owner ship of that new piece. Most artist work comes with license agreement which must be followed or obeyed such as creative commons. The argument over ownership as a history that goes back to laws that were made for ownership over the air waves that are used to broadcast radio signals to an audience. Today people want to be seen and heard so they blog and chat and images are sent to one another a lot of times over a long distances, say Philadelphia to somewhere in the West Coast. The more access a person has to digital technology the more that person will produce copies and originals and they will have a vast collection of things that make up their digital world that can reach most parts of the original world. Hollywood as felt a big impact by the internet and always is looking for new ways to integrate new ideas to keep their audience in the multiplexes. Video tape has had a big impact on film by biting into their audience, the internet has television audience down similar to the way television has took newspapers audience. Blogs and you tube are a new net being cast by different group that end in different headline news putting the viewer at a more authorship position when it comes to what they see
Question #2 – Remix and Open Source Culture – What impact has digital technology had on issues of authorship, access to technology and means of cultural production?
Digital technology has had a big impact on authorship when one thinks of the internet. Digital technology has changed the way communication takes place between people and allows for reproduction of many things that are now made copy ready for the consumer. Because the consumer changes the original copy into a different meaning when viewed or heard or felt the consumer then clams owner ship of that new piece. Most artist work comes with license agreement which must be followed or obeyed such as creative commons. The argument over ownership as a history that goes back to laws that were made for ownership over the air waves that are used to broadcast radio signals to an audience. Today people want to be seen and heard so they blog and chat and images are sent to one another a lot of times over a long distances, say Philadelphia to somewhere in the West Coast. The more access a person has to digital technology the more that person will produce copies and originals and they will have a vast collection of things that make up their digital world that can reach most parts of the original world. Hollywood as felt a big impact by the internet and always is looking for new ways to integrate new ideas to keep their audience in the multiplexes. Video tape has had a big impact on film by biting into their audience, the internet has television audience down similar to the way television has took newspapers audience. Blogs and you tube are a new net being cast by different group that end in different headline news putting the viewer at a more authorship position when it comes to what they see
Blog 2
Digital technology has altered a lot, especially with authorship. It has become more and more difficult to accurately claim something as your own, especially when put on the internet. It has become so easy for anybody to sit down with another creator's work, open it in Photoshop, and transform the image completely, calling it their own. While the end result may be creative, it could send a different message than the one the original author intended to be seen. At the same time, maybe the author wanted his/her work out there and be accessed by those who want to build upon it to create a bigger work of art.
Digital technology has affected our lives by letting us create things we could not before. Even as far as CGI, and even though personally I am not the biggest fan, it allows viewers to see something on a screen that could never actually happen (like flipping complete streets on top of each other). As far as cultural production, digital technology has made the digital arts more accessible to the masses. Instead of having to put together a gallery, invite people, etc., now it is so easy to create your own website and advertise your work. The other great thing is the ability for students, or frankly anybody who would like to create, to have access to this digital technology to create a new art form. The downfall, however, is the inability for those who may not be so familiar and may not have access to the technology, to be able to create like those who do.
-Derek Applegate
Blug Assignment #2
Digital technology has greatly affected authorship and culture production. Those who have access to technology have a much greater means of creating cultural products and becoming authors. On the other hand, those who do not have access to technology are unable to become the same creators and consumers of such creations as their privileged counterparts.
The individuals that are on the access side of the digital divide have the means and access to information. They have the ability to be able to view, remix, re-edit, download and sample the content that they have at hand. What one person creates can be accessed and altered by another. These sequences of events give those who have access to technology the advantage when it comes to becoming an author and a creator of cultural products.
Those who are on the other side of the digital divide have very limited resources when it comes to being authors. The lack of access to technology strips them of information. Without the information and the content that is provided by technology there is no means to view, remix, re-edit, download and sample.
Without technology the possibility of authorship greatly changes. There are no blogs; no mp3’s, there is no video editing software, no internet. The means of creating are left in the hands of the individuals and what they have access to in their environment.
With digital technology, cultural productions becomes extremely abundant. When it is absent, there is a great loss in what a culture is/can be producing.
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Blog 2
Digital technology is an incredibly powerful thing. With that comes access to what seems to be an unlimated number of recourses. Naturally this makes things much easier for most. The biggest problem digital technology provides however is the lack of ownership in almsot anything. If someone really wants to steal or use something without permission bad enough they can and usually will. Everything from art and science to identity theft. This leaves one wondering how can a person claim true authorship at all. Aside from this though digital technology as long as its not abused is a magnifecent thing that can provide people with the means to learn and explore at their fingertips. Technology is becoming much more accessible due to the advancements in digital technologies.
-Mike Markloff
-Mike Markloff
Blog 2
While digital technology broadens the horizon for Creatives in more way than one, it also brings one major problem to the table – authorship. Although digital technology has increased authorship by allowing more people to produce work, either by creating original pieces or by remixing other work, it also has created a very fuzzy line that many people either unknowingly or consciously cross. It’s much easier to take someone’s work from the Internet than to copy it from a book, or to record it from a CD. I myself am very guilty of “stealing from Google” as I call it. At my internship though, I conduct photo research and spend my workday requesting photos and photo credits of images that could just as easily be taken from the Internet. Doing this had made me more understanding of copyright laws and the importance of the creator retaining their authorship.
Access to technology is a commonality for most. But, take a look at Philadelphia. The digital divide is expanding all the time. Half the city is walking around with iPhones, iPads, smartphones, iPods (wow, does Apple own everything or what?) and the other half don’t even know how to use a computer. I’m not just talking homeless people here. I’m talking seniors, poor folks, unemployed, minorities, etc. Luckily, projects are in the works. Drexel University is helping to bring thousands of computers to residents of the Philadelphia Housing Authority this year. But, the numbers are still up there and as the digital divide widens, the problems heighten. Digital technology has only decreased access to technology, among other things, for those on the other side of the divide.
Digital technology has perhaps stunted cultural production in our society in some ways. We have to ask ourselves – can we really produce anything original anymore? Isn’t everything we come up with somehow derived from an original work, or even a remixed work? While this argument can probably be applied to any work produced even before digital technology came about, I think it is much more severe in terms of digital technology. Our own creativity is hindered by the accessibility we have to others’ work.-Tracy Galloway
Monday, March 21, 2011
Blog 2 Response
Before technology, there were limited ways in which media was created. For instance, the only way that news was created was through newspapers, which was printed on paper in a factory and sold on the streets. Technology has completely changed the way we get our news today. It makes it so easy to have access to it, whether it is on television, on a mobile device, and of course the Internet. The Internet has given anyone who has access to it the ability to view just about anything. The question is how has media changed with the emergence of digital technology. One of the main ways technology has changed media is through remixability. Technology enables people to create their own content, and frequently change the content made by someone else, and sign off on as their own. The music industry has probably had the biggest impact. Before technology, people often bought CD’s in a store and played them in a boom box or CD player. Have things changed dramatically over the past few decades. More often than not, songs are being downloaded illegally or downloaded from an online music store. The last time I bought a CD was over the summer. Youtube has paved the way for aspiring artists to create their own songs and upload them for anyone to hear. The Internet negatively and positively affected the music industry.
--Jesse Steinberg--
Blog 2
Digital Technology has impacted the issues of authorship, access, and cultural production because of just how easy it is to face these issues. Through digital technology anyone can create something new. The issue of authorship is a tough one. We can take blogging for example; blogging allows anyone to be an author of their work. Anyone can write anything about anything. Digital technology has created more authors. The negative about authorship is that sometimes when credit isn’t given, with so many people writing, we don’t really know who had the original idea that is mentioned. When something is remixed but the original piece isn’t credited then the remixed piece can become its own being and the original piece can be missed or neglected. That’s where the problem of authorship comes along in the digital age. Digital technology impacted our access to technology because we have it 24/7, all day every day. Different ideas are constantly being shares, reworked, and exchanged. Digital Technology has impacted means of cultural production as well because it is a new medium to share and exchange information. We used to rely on solely radio, TV and newspapers and all of those mediums have merged to be included in digital technology. For example, Twitter has changed our culture’s production because it is now used for entertainment, friends, news, music, etc. It is being used to expand and move forward culturally.
~Karina Avellaneda~
~Karina Avellaneda~
Post 2: Remix
First of all, I would argue that digital technology has had less impact on issues of authorship, access to technology, and means of cultural production than is popularly portrayed in mass media. Take the example of zines and hip-hop, both of which existed before the dawn of the Internet.
When one is writing a zine, one usually remains anonymous. In zine culture, authorship is a little bit different - the author isn't as important as the message is. Moreover, zines use low-tech methods of production. To distribute a zine, all one needs is access to a copy machine and a lot of staples. Many people still write zines in this day and age.
As for hip-hop, this genre is one of many genres that samples other music extensively. For example, there's a song by Nas named I Can that samples Fur Elise by Beethoven. He took the original song and altered the context to make it fit his message. This kind of sampling raises the question of whether the original - in this example, Fur Elise - is still relevant or if the sampling process changed it so much that it now means something totally different. Who is the author?: Beethoven, Nas, or both?
The difference between our era and the early days of sampling is that it is a lot easier to sample and remix now. For example, there is a meme generator online, where one is provided with a template to generate various memes like "paranoid parrot." Using this template, the user types in a punchline. You no longer have to know how to use complicated software to manipulate images; you simply have to go to a website and type in words.
Access to technology is still a pertinent point, but I would argue that it is getting easier as the prices of technology fall and web designers become more cognizant of providing access to users with disabilities. And, like I pointed out in the example of meme generators, you don't necessarily have to know how to code in order to use online tools. It is therefore becoming easier for guerilla organizations to do things like report news from their perspective via blogs and Youtube.
Of course, one major issue is that it's easier to get media than ever before, even if one only uses legal methods. One can download an entire discography or TV show in a matter of minutes or hours. This would have been unthinkable in the middle of the twentieth century. Some authors argue that this ease of access is harmful, whereas other authors embrace it - like Radiohead did in 2007 when they released In Rainbows online and allowed users to pay whatever they wanted, including nothing at all. This is a very contentious point with too many nuances to go into here.
So, in a nutshell, I don't think that digital technology is responsible for the rise of remix and open source culture. Instead, I think that the primary impact that digital technology has had is the fact that it makes it easier to remix and to share art online, so now more people participate in these.
Daniel Crosby
When one is writing a zine, one usually remains anonymous. In zine culture, authorship is a little bit different - the author isn't as important as the message is. Moreover, zines use low-tech methods of production. To distribute a zine, all one needs is access to a copy machine and a lot of staples. Many people still write zines in this day and age.
As for hip-hop, this genre is one of many genres that samples other music extensively. For example, there's a song by Nas named I Can that samples Fur Elise by Beethoven. He took the original song and altered the context to make it fit his message. This kind of sampling raises the question of whether the original - in this example, Fur Elise - is still relevant or if the sampling process changed it so much that it now means something totally different. Who is the author?: Beethoven, Nas, or both?
The difference between our era and the early days of sampling is that it is a lot easier to sample and remix now. For example, there is a meme generator online, where one is provided with a template to generate various memes like "paranoid parrot." Using this template, the user types in a punchline. You no longer have to know how to use complicated software to manipulate images; you simply have to go to a website and type in words.
Access to technology is still a pertinent point, but I would argue that it is getting easier as the prices of technology fall and web designers become more cognizant of providing access to users with disabilities. And, like I pointed out in the example of meme generators, you don't necessarily have to know how to code in order to use online tools. It is therefore becoming easier for guerilla organizations to do things like report news from their perspective via blogs and Youtube.
Of course, one major issue is that it's easier to get media than ever before, even if one only uses legal methods. One can download an entire discography or TV show in a matter of minutes or hours. This would have been unthinkable in the middle of the twentieth century. Some authors argue that this ease of access is harmful, whereas other authors embrace it - like Radiohead did in 2007 when they released In Rainbows online and allowed users to pay whatever they wanted, including nothing at all. This is a very contentious point with too many nuances to go into here.
So, in a nutshell, I don't think that digital technology is responsible for the rise of remix and open source culture. Instead, I think that the primary impact that digital technology has had is the fact that it makes it easier to remix and to share art online, so now more people participate in these.
Daniel Crosby
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Andrew Valentino - Blog Post 2
Digital technology has essentially democratized culture. While at first it was used primarily as a means of disseminating products from manufacturers to consumers (as in films and music) in a generally unidirectional manner, the availability of file hosting services coupled with the reduced price of professional authoring tools has resulted in everyone sharing with each other. Following the rapidly decreasing prices of electronics, the ability to obtain access to the entire world of digital content is becoming more easily accessible, allowing the digital divide to be bridged naturally by economics. Authorship has also become somewhat muddled as an authoritative expression, at least in academic circles. In practice, however, authorship has still generally been relegated to the creator of a specific work, which includes remixes and open source software. In the case of remixes, the author of the remix is understood to be different from the author of the source material, and I have seen people react negatively when the perceive that their specific remix has been plagiarized by someone else - indicating a sense of authorship over the reorganization but not the raw material. In the case of open source projects or software, typically I have seen credits involved with new releases or specific patches. Many 3d models I have used in animations were accompanied by permission to freely use the file but to give credit to the artist who created it. The idea of authorship is not lost to the digital realm - it is just more easily confused by people who don't give credit where credit is due.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Blended Pictures
I know we've moved on from blended pictures to remixing, but I thought this was very interesting. This site has photos taken from Burning Man, the week long event in Nevada, and blended them with other pictures.
http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/2010/10/08/photo-essay-burning-man-remixed/
--Jesse Steinberg--
http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/2010/10/08/photo-essay-burning-man-remixed/
--Jesse Steinberg--
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Remixing
I came across this website that has a really comical example of remixing. On the top left you can also take a look at Patrick Moberg's other collections. His remix projects are 'Animal Pharm' and 'Internet Vices'.
http://www.patrickmoberg.com/animalpharm
~Karina Avellaneda~
http://www.patrickmoberg.com/animalpharm
~Karina Avellaneda~
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
First Blog Response- Devon Golde
In the last fifteen years, and especially the last ten, since the dawn of the new millenium, there has been a drastic surge in society's use of internet communications and technology. Prior to this point, the internet, while in constant use by people everyday, had not yet become the staple of every day life that it is today. When I began grade school, one could still use the excuse of not having a computer at home and it was at that point still believable and understandable. For a computer was somewhat like a game system today, it was cool to have one, but it was unnecessary. But in the intervening years, that's all changed. People no longer have a choice of whether or not to buy a computer, it is now somewhat a necessity of life. The effects of which can be felt in almost any part of life, but perhaps most notably, the way we interact.
During my years growing up, I literally witnessed the change of the entire social landscape. It seemed almost over night that people decided to only communicate through computer screens. In school and other social outlets, we went from being outgoing and communicative with one another, to simply dealing with having to leave the shelter of home. In a strange paradox, this crazy internet thing opened up countless possibilities for communication, yet it closed people off from one another. By staying constantly "connected" we somehow lost the ability to actually connect. No longer was it necessary to make friends in new places because you could be in constant contact with your old friends. Some adapted and some didn't. Some kids were lost in the shuffle in this new age of digital social interaction, longing for the old ways of actually speaking in person.
It's strange to think that my generation will be literally the last to remember what it was like without this strange "magical" interconnectivity called the internet, or at least the version of it we know today. Kids now are born with this ever-growing hub of information and communication, that nowadays you can take with you anywhere. The internet, as we know it, is still in it's infancy. It will continue to grow and evolve over time and with it, so will our communications. But for anyone that has been alive long enough to remember when people had pagers, or it was relatively easy to find a pay phone, it is readily apparent the effects that wide-spread use of the internet has on our lives and culture. The only question is now: where will it go from here?
During my years growing up, I literally witnessed the change of the entire social landscape. It seemed almost over night that people decided to only communicate through computer screens. In school and other social outlets, we went from being outgoing and communicative with one another, to simply dealing with having to leave the shelter of home. In a strange paradox, this crazy internet thing opened up countless possibilities for communication, yet it closed people off from one another. By staying constantly "connected" we somehow lost the ability to actually connect. No longer was it necessary to make friends in new places because you could be in constant contact with your old friends. Some adapted and some didn't. Some kids were lost in the shuffle in this new age of digital social interaction, longing for the old ways of actually speaking in person.
It's strange to think that my generation will be literally the last to remember what it was like without this strange "magical" interconnectivity called the internet, or at least the version of it we know today. Kids now are born with this ever-growing hub of information and communication, that nowadays you can take with you anywhere. The internet, as we know it, is still in it's infancy. It will continue to grow and evolve over time and with it, so will our communications. But for anyone that has been alive long enough to remember when people had pagers, or it was relatively easy to find a pay phone, it is readily apparent the effects that wide-spread use of the internet has on our lives and culture. The only question is now: where will it go from here?
Blog 1: Digital Communication
The internet has created endless amount of ways of communicating with one another and will continue to change. Because of the internet, there are new forms of communication that were previously separate from one another, but today they overlap and are interconnected.
When we look at things such as facebook, it is the new social network that millions of people over the world use. Before facebook, we had myspace and before that we had xanga. These social networks keep updating their own network or changing completely just to keep up with the internet and society must follow.
Today, many people rely solely on the internet. More and more businesses are relying on the internet to communicate with their costumers. Sad to think, what ever happened to the phone? Now we have online/instant chat, email, and skype. No one needs the simple things anymore. Does anyone ever write letters anymore? Yes, but they're called emails now. Does anyone read the newspaper? Sure, but it's now online reading for most people.
The internet can be over hyped sometimes, but it's a great networking and communication tool. It's interesting to see how this tool has changed society and it will continue to change.
Kathleen Welter
When we look at things such as facebook, it is the new social network that millions of people over the world use. Before facebook, we had myspace and before that we had xanga. These social networks keep updating their own network or changing completely just to keep up with the internet and society must follow.
Today, many people rely solely on the internet. More and more businesses are relying on the internet to communicate with their costumers. Sad to think, what ever happened to the phone? Now we have online/instant chat, email, and skype. No one needs the simple things anymore. Does anyone ever write letters anymore? Yes, but they're called emails now. Does anyone read the newspaper? Sure, but it's now online reading for most people.
The internet can be over hyped sometimes, but it's a great networking and communication tool. It's interesting to see how this tool has changed society and it will continue to change.
Kathleen Welter
First Blog Assignment
Montes Carrasquillo
First blog report
Question #1 – Digital Communication – What implications do Internet technologies have on contemporary forms of communication?
Internet technologies have many implications for contemporary communication. For example, I am a student at Temple University School of Communication and of the Theater Arts, and our student class blogs have been a big part of the overall class assignments. For example, I take a film class in which we are studying experimental film. Part of the overall lesson is to make a class blog using some sort of common free blog site. I chose Tumblr because I was introduced to it the semester beforehand. The task is to post responses to reading that are given out mostly on what is called Black Board, a website that Temple students use for their homework and to engage other students and even the teacher through email. Our other task for the class blog involves posting contemporary experimental exercise films that we make ourselves using some of the latest artist techniques such as synaesthetic. We also combine different layers of visuals and audio so that they are superimposed on one another using an A, B, and C method of layering. Each student has their own individual blog and we can follow each other’s progress and make comments on each other videos. So can the rest of the Tumblr community.
First blog report
Question #1 – Digital Communication – What implications do Internet technologies have on contemporary forms of communication?
Internet technologies have many implications for contemporary communication. For example, I am a student at Temple University School of Communication and of the Theater Arts, and our student class blogs have been a big part of the overall class assignments. For example, I take a film class in which we are studying experimental film. Part of the overall lesson is to make a class blog using some sort of common free blog site. I chose Tumblr because I was introduced to it the semester beforehand. The task is to post responses to reading that are given out mostly on what is called Black Board, a website that Temple students use for their homework and to engage other students and even the teacher through email. Our other task for the class blog involves posting contemporary experimental exercise films that we make ourselves using some of the latest artist techniques such as synaesthetic. We also combine different layers of visuals and audio so that they are superimposed on one another using an A, B, and C method of layering. Each student has their own individual blog and we can follow each other’s progress and make comments on each other videos. So can the rest of the Tumblr community.
Internet Communication
Yes I immediately have to say that the internet does make communication much easier for people. I believe that the level of social networking the internet provides people with is almost impossible to comprehend. I like most people however can take the internet for granted. I feel that most people have reached a level where they cannot survive without it. So the real question for me is whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. Like everything else in life its all about ballance. There can be too much of anything. When someone spends there entire day reading about celebrities and facebook stalking then yes it's bad. If you use it to explore the world and communicate effectively and in a healthy manner than yes the internet is a good thing. What I want to know is how long can the average person go without using the internet in some way shape or form.
-Mike Markloff
-Mike Markloff
Blog# 1 Joshua Ferrell
Long since the days of science fiction have we dreamed of the intricate methods of communication each new generation would have. With the birth of the internet however we have finally begun to see some of the more solid staples of science fiction dreaming come to fruition. As fantasized in Star Trek and The Jetsons alike we now have the much long awaited video phone (i.e. technologies like Skype). This alone changes the playing field of communication from sound alone to sound and face. The internet has allowed for huge advancements in not only communication but the methods accessibility. Simply look at instant messaging a free service which changed a generation, Allowed millions of youth from all over the world to communicate instantly. We now understand the power of what we have created, a network with the ability to completely shrink the world. This implies the world as we know it, distant and disjointed, shall close. Gaps between distant families and friends will close and through the power of the internet people may find some solace in the face of a loved one they haven’t seen in years.
Blog Assignment
Internet technologies have created an instant way for communication. Twitter, Facebook, and Email are just a few ways that are being utilized daily to spread information about a vast verity of topics.
The idea behind social networking site like Twitter, Facebook and Email are great in theory when examining internet forms of communication, but when put into practice they often becomes watered down with useless information. No one needs to have the instant relay of meaningless updates and for the most part is it just a distraction that pulls individuals away from more productive or creative acts. Celebrity gossip and cliche culture references have mostly taken over the information that is produced online often making it useless.
There is a more positive side to internet communication that is often overlooked though. Over the past few weeks the social uprising that has been taking place in Egypt is a great example of how something like the internet can be used as a form of progressive communication that can be used for the better of mankind. Thousands of individuals can and did organize to try and improve the quality of their lives by using such a tool. It’s unfortunate that there is more of an interest in finding out what Miley Cyrus is doing then using the unique tool to its potential, but it is easy to how much of an effect the internet has on the way we communication, be it for pleasure or for social change.
The idea behind social networking site like Twitter, Facebook and Email are great in theory when examining internet forms of communication, but when put into practice they often becomes watered down with useless information. No one needs to have the instant relay of meaningless updates and for the most part is it just a distraction that pulls individuals away from more productive or creative acts. Celebrity gossip and cliche culture references have mostly taken over the information that is produced online often making it useless.
There is a more positive side to internet communication that is often overlooked though. Over the past few weeks the social uprising that has been taking place in Egypt is a great example of how something like the internet can be used as a form of progressive communication that can be used for the better of mankind. Thousands of individuals can and did organize to try and improve the quality of their lives by using such a tool. It’s unfortunate that there is more of an interest in finding out what Miley Cyrus is doing then using the unique tool to its potential, but it is easy to how much of an effect the internet has on the way we communication, be it for pleasure or for social change.
Digital Communicaton -- Blog 1
The Internet and more specifically Web 2.0 has altered the communication between friends, co-workers, family, and even enemies in a drastic way. It is easier to get in contact with anybody from around the world in a few clicks. Skype allows users to search for anybody with a Skype username and have a voice or video chat with any users from any part of the world. As a child, I can remember the days of "talking on the phone and being able to see the other person will be something of the future," and it's absolutely amazing the Internet has given the world that capability. A website that has taken off over the past months, Chatroulette, has very similar functions to Skype, except with Chatroulette you use an internet browser, log onto a site, and the server will pair you up with a random person with a video camera. The internet has allowed us to communicate and see others from anywhere in the world in a few minutes, something that would have easily taken days to do before the internet.
Social networks, especially Facebook and Twitter have taken communication to another level. Not only can you be completely up to date with your friends locations, activities, friends, and latest pictures without ever needing to ask them a single question, but also up to date with trending topics around the world. These sites allow their users to gain different views and opinions of almost anything. For example, in 2010 after Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awatds, I can remember logging onto Facebook and Twitter and being able to see opinions from those all around the world just by clicking on Kanye West's name, and this was before I even saw it happen.
The internet has taken contemporary forms of communication and altered them so there is almost barely a need to actually interact with peers. In fact, the contemporary method of interacting could even be considered simply checking somebody's status or by having a conversation with someone over a webcam, without ever meeting that person.
Derek Applegate
Social networks, especially Facebook and Twitter have taken communication to another level. Not only can you be completely up to date with your friends locations, activities, friends, and latest pictures without ever needing to ask them a single question, but also up to date with trending topics around the world. These sites allow their users to gain different views and opinions of almost anything. For example, in 2010 after Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awatds, I can remember logging onto Facebook and Twitter and being able to see opinions from those all around the world just by clicking on Kanye West's name, and this was before I even saw it happen.
The internet has taken contemporary forms of communication and altered them so there is almost barely a need to actually interact with peers. In fact, the contemporary method of interacting could even be considered simply checking somebody's status or by having a conversation with someone over a webcam, without ever meeting that person.
Derek Applegate
Monday, February 21, 2011
Andrew Valentino Blog Assignment 1
It almost goes without saying that the internet has revolutionized communication as we know it. A particularly fun example I like to use about the nature of the internet in regards to other forms of communication is that it's like a zombie apocalypse; all the other ways of communicating it comes into contact with get absorbed by it and become a part of it. Telephone communication has merged with the internet in applications such as
Skype, while phone hardware itself has begun supporting internet connections. Movies can be watched over the internet legally with services such as Netflix, or illegally with basically any other service. Even the modern artist is a denzien of the net, with artwork sharing sites such as DeviantArt giving them a place to post and discuss their own artwork, even allowing others to buy prints of their work.
The implications seem obvious to me - the internet is the future of virtually all communications of the human race (barring some global electronic failure of absurd proportions.) Its form is still, in my opinion, relatively immature. I see it growing into a more connected and active experience in much the same way as video games have become more social. Looking off into the far future, I believe we will have a technology that enables total immersion. In other words, an operating system that functions much like the Matrix, where you directly connect your five senses to an alternate experience that allows you to exist digitally, online, with people from around the world, as well as call up media in any format at will. Think of it like Neo meets Facebook. It may be the stuff of science fiction, but it's something I believe we are headed towards, based on all of the interrelated advancements in various fields.
Skype, while phone hardware itself has begun supporting internet connections. Movies can be watched over the internet legally with services such as Netflix, or illegally with basically any other service. Even the modern artist is a denzien of the net, with artwork sharing sites such as DeviantArt giving them a place to post and discuss their own artwork, even allowing others to buy prints of their work.
The implications seem obvious to me - the internet is the future of virtually all communications of the human race (barring some global electronic failure of absurd proportions.) Its form is still, in my opinion, relatively immature. I see it growing into a more connected and active experience in much the same way as video games have become more social. Looking off into the far future, I believe we will have a technology that enables total immersion. In other words, an operating system that functions much like the Matrix, where you directly connect your five senses to an alternate experience that allows you to exist digitally, online, with people from around the world, as well as call up media in any format at will. Think of it like Neo meets Facebook. It may be the stuff of science fiction, but it's something I believe we are headed towards, based on all of the interrelated advancements in various fields.
Digital Communication
I don't even know where to start on this question. I literally cannot imagine what my life would have been like without the Internet.
That being said, I think that (A) most people don't realize just how old the Internet is (it was around long before Facebook) and (B) a lot of people misunderstand the Internet's potential.
I was born at the very tail end of the '80's, so I'm not old enough to have seen the entire history of the Internet. I missed Usenet and so forth. So, to me, the Internet went through two stages. There was the Web of the early to late '90's, when a community larger than the server room's staff began to adopt the technology but it wasn't yet mainstream - during that era, everyone online had this sense of excitement, of freedom, of limitless possibilities. What could this "Internet" thing do? Who knows, but let's try!
I think that some of that ethos has carried over, but the Internet has also slowly evolved into something else as it's gone mainstream. Some negative things have resulted - like the proliferation of the hive mind's uglier side, which is illustrated very well in this Ars Technica story about a man from a security firm who tried to track down Anonymous.
However, I still think that the Internet has a lot of positive things to offer. I think it's such a wonderful opportunity to be connected to everyone with less regard for accessibility barriers that one may face in real life. It provides forums for minority populations to have a real voice. It exposes people to new art they'd never have discovered otherwise. Et cetera. I hope that the era of net-neutrality stays around for a long time.
Daniel Crosby
That being said, I think that (A) most people don't realize just how old the Internet is (it was around long before Facebook) and (B) a lot of people misunderstand the Internet's potential.
I was born at the very tail end of the '80's, so I'm not old enough to have seen the entire history of the Internet. I missed Usenet and so forth. So, to me, the Internet went through two stages. There was the Web of the early to late '90's, when a community larger than the server room's staff began to adopt the technology but it wasn't yet mainstream - during that era, everyone online had this sense of excitement, of freedom, of limitless possibilities. What could this "Internet" thing do? Who knows, but let's try!
I think that some of that ethos has carried over, but the Internet has also slowly evolved into something else as it's gone mainstream. Some negative things have resulted - like the proliferation of the hive mind's uglier side, which is illustrated very well in this Ars Technica story about a man from a security firm who tried to track down Anonymous.
However, I still think that the Internet has a lot of positive things to offer. I think it's such a wonderful opportunity to be connected to everyone with less regard for accessibility barriers that one may face in real life. It provides forums for minority populations to have a real voice. It exposes people to new art they'd never have discovered otherwise. Et cetera. I hope that the era of net-neutrality stays around for a long time.
Daniel Crosby
Digital Communication Blog #1
The internet has really taken over how people communicate now, whether its verbally, written out, artistically, and musically. We now have this super highway of information that we definitely use to our advantage to get our messages across. Not too long ago, people used to write letters, use the telephone, and use television to communicate but things have expanded since. We can now use the internet to Instant Message someone, we use email to quickly send a message to someone across the nation, across the globe. We can even use the internet to make video calls to another person far away. Websites such as Facebook, twitter, and Youtube have also really changed the way messages are sent or how information is shared. It is really easy to share your thoughts in a simple status or tweet. Youtube allows people to either use it as a form of entertainment but others use it as their way of creating art through video. Everything is now at our finger tips and can be quickly and easily viewed and shared. With the internet anything is now possible. Artists alike have used the internet to create works of art digitally. The websites we looked through in class were definitely very abstract but they each had a very different message to the viewer. Having the facility to find just about anything on the internet also allows us to view it and remix it and make it something completely new. My favorite example of remix is the Google Logo. They are always remixing it to fit whatever occasion is going on, on a particular day. They take what is already out there and make it their own and incorporate it into their logo. The internet technology most people have access to has really positively influenced the way we communicate our ideas and thoughts whether it be for leisure or art.
~Karina Avellaneda~
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