The Internet and the Growth of Participatory Democracy

The Internet is a relatively new form of communicative technology, which rose to full effect in the 1990's. This essay will analyse the uses and limitations of the Internet for exercising democracy. We will analyse how the Internet has changed the notions of both the community and the public's view of the political. The essay, will argue that the Internet can be used to increase participatory democracy whilst keeping in mind the fact that, the excision of democratic rights via the Internet, is largely limited to the influence of government bodies and or those who have the knowledge to control the system.

The nature of community in society has arguably been affected by the Internet. What used to be regarded as the primary factors for 'political socialisation', the family and or communal group, has lessened in importance, because of new media. (Heywood, p237, 2008). The Internet, often, puts less emphasis on the local, and more on global significance. (Cain, 2002). Many see this as a negative aspect relating the Internet to the growth of globalization, which is said to cause a loss of identity for communities. (Heywood, p236, 2008). Though, the Internet allows for interaction of like-minded groups, on a scale which is unfathomable to any other medium. (Thornton, 2002). Therefore communities, link together due to shared interests. What can be said to have occurred is that the 'community' has become much larger. These communities can meet online, communicate shared view points and ultimately 'build alliances on the Internet', in order to realise their democratic rights. (Woolpert et al, p23, 1998). Though, this is limited to those who are able to afford a computer and Internet access. (Jacobs, 1998). According to Heywood (p237, 2008), ‘through the use of the Internet anti-globalization or anti-capitalism, protesters have been able to disrupt the activities and affect the actions of bodies such as the world trade organisation and G8’. In no doubt, much quicker and cost affective ways than ever before possible. The Internet also has the capacity to facilitate wide information for union groups, their debates and meetings. (Noyles, 2002). Though another limitation of the net is, because of its grand scale information is often unable to be verified. (Kohanski, 2009). But with the Internet there is also the risk that employers can monitor their employee’s online communication, which often occurs freely in Australia. (Noyles, 2002).

The major limit the Internet imposes against democracy is its potential to be used for both censorship and surveillance. Governments and other knowledgeable bodies, often have the power to track various information they gather from Internet orientated activity. (Thornton, 2002). The laws that allow such things can be said to be undemocratic. They are often hidden under anti-terrorism laws, such as the ‘American Patriot Act’. (Mackinnon, 2009). In America a man was arrested after communicating via the social networking site, Twitter, to other G-20 protesters. (Monyihan, 2009). Similarly, Internet censorship, an impending threat now to Australia, limits democratic participation in much the same way. It is likely ‘to cast a shadow over the internet's potential as a tool to revitalise the public sphere’. (Thornton, 2002). It signifies capacity for control. Though, in China, citizens are finding ways around the censorship. (Mackinnon, 2009). In the words of David Kohanski (2009), ‘the Internet views censorship and routes around it’. Because, there is always the capacity for a cyberpunk to hack into the system. (Stockwell, p2, 2009). In general the Internet, also allows the user to become more politically informed. (Cain, 2002).

The Internet has also changed the way people interact with both politicians and politics in general. Because of it, politicians are often watched by the public around the clock. (Heywood, 345, 2008). The Internet, also allows for a lower cost alternative for politicians to reach target audiences. (Ferdinand, p2, 2000). It can also give a voice to smaller political groups, who in the past could never have afforded the same virtues as the dominant parties. Allocating in turn, more room for democracy. An example of how a more participatory form of democracy can be used because of the Internet is the example of the Obama campaign. Much of the campaign's success can be credited to the clever use of the new medium, by communicating with and creating online network links via news feeds, and posting over 1800 videos on YouTube. (Mathur & Bakata, 2009). Obama also communicated, and continues to communicate with voters via the social networking site Twitter. The Internet also allows politicians to gage how affective their campaigns have been like never before. Though, the campaign’s reach, in this case, would largely be limited to like-minded groups. This is due to the fact that the Internet allows the user to often freely choose what they access. But rather, the campaign did only have the capacity to reach the undecided and non-participatory voters. The Obama campaign helped implement a more participatory form of democracy, as it brought together groups who would not have necessarily voted in the past, but who were drawn together in a community of sorts, because of shared socio-economic values. (Tapia & James, p34, 2008). Furthermore, there is according to Heywood (p234, 2008), in general a link between the growth of the Internet's use in democratically underdeveloped parts of the world, as ‘the highest usage growth is in Africa, the middle east, and Latin America’. (Heywood, p344, 2008).

We have noted that the Internet has changed both the communal sphere and the way in which we view the political. The Internet ultimately makes it easier for groups to both realise their democratic rights and actively participate in them. The Internet enhances the spread of a more participatory democracy, but is largely limited by government regulations which ultimately deprecate the force of the communicative technology. ‘Whether the Internet eventually serves either democratic or non-democratic purposes will depend open the institutions and norms that govern and protect Internet users and communities’. (Cain, 2002)





References

Ferdinand, P 2000, 'The Internet, Democracy and Democratization',
Routledge Publishing, United States of America

Heywood, A 2008, 'Politics', 3rd ed, Macmillan Press Ltd, London

Stockwell, S 2008, 'We're All Hackers Now: Doing Global Democracy',
Create World, AUC-Griffith Univeristy Publication

Tapia, L James, T 2008, 'Why Barack Obama Won My Vote', Texas
Publishing House, United States of America

Woolpert, S Slaton, C Schwerin, E 1998, 'Transformational Politics',
State Univeristy of New York Publishing, Albany, New York

Links

Cain, B 2002, 'The internet in the (Dis)service of Democracy',
viewed 16th of October 2009, http://llr.lls.edu/volumes/v34-issue3/cain.pdf

Jacobs, J 1998, 'Internet and Democracy', an Australian
Broardcasting Corporation Publication, viewed 17th of
October 2009, http://www.abc.net.au/ola/citizen/interdemoc/democ.htm

Kohanski, D 2008, 'Internet's Impact on Democracy', San Francisco
Chonicle Online Publishing, viewed 12th of October 2009,
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?

Mackinnon, R 2009, 'Is America Getting More Like China?', R Conversation
Online, viewed 21st of October 2009, http://rconversation.blogs.com/

Mathur, M Bakata, S 2009, 'Link Bewteen Democracy and Internet Access',
Franfurter Allgemeine Online Publishing, Germany, viewed 18th of
October 2009, http://2009.inwent-iij-lab.org/?p=1218

Moynihan, C 2009, 'Arrest Puts Focus on Protestors Texting', New York
Times Online Publication, viewed 20th of October 2009,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/nyregion/05txt.html?_r=1


Noyles, M 2002, 'Using the Internet for Union Democracy', The
Association for Union Democracy Online, viewed 18th of October
2009, http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/36-using%20internet%20for%20union%20dem.htm

Thornton, A 2002, 'Does Internet Create Democracy?', Zipworld
Online, viewed 21st of October 2009, http://www.zipworld.com.au/~athornto/thesis_2002_alinta_thornton.doc

Reflections

Now, as the academic year draws tightly to a close. I repose reflectively, on what I have learnt all up from taking the course, 'New Communication Technologies'. I actually enjoyed it overall, for several notable reasons; Firstly is was largely nonrestrictive, meaning that it allowed students to freely and creatively, write about new forms of communication technology, in ways they saw fit. Secondly, I believe that how it required students to write a summery about each lecture every week, allowed for overall, a better absorption of the content.

I believe that this course, has in general, made me think about the growing importance of the Internet and various other new communicative technologies. I learnt how to embed media, pictures, videos and in general understand significantly more about how websites were formed.

Because of the ever growing popularity of the Internet and the constant evolution of ways to communicate, I think that every student should understand thoroughly, how these aspects will most likely be extremely significant features in our careers, someday. especially for students like myself, who are studying Journalism or any other communications degree. The Internet and other forms of new media, are increasingly used in these professions. I have know doubt, that this is a trend which will continue to evolve.

The only problem or criticism I could mention about this course, is the fact that because it is open to the public and every student can access each others blog, this can prose problems regarding originality. If you get my drift. It is all to easy for one student to almost copy and paste, what another has spent time deciphering and writing about.

well, apart from this I found that the course allowed me to be creative (which is what I love) and allowed students to really voice their personal opinions about various issues regarding new communication technologies. Making and uploading the videos was a challenge, but after the initial struggle, I found the result personally, rewarding.

Putting It all Together: The Essay

For my essay for New Communications Technology, I have decided to tackle the rather tricky looking but thoroughly interesting, topic number four. Which poses the questions of; What are the uses/limits of the Internet in terms of politics and or Democracy? Should we rethink the nature of the political? What happens to the nation/state in the age where networks, that have the potential to span the entire globe? What has happened to the idea of 'community', in age of networked digital media?

I actually became interested by this topic, because of Stephen Stockwell's lecture on 'Political Possibilities". But also because I completed 'Introduction to Politics' last semester, and found it very interesting.

Unfortunately I have not had a lot of time so far to analyse what I believe to be suitable sources for this essay. But I have found a few that relate to how the internet affects the political sphere.

One of these was a thesis I found relating to this topic by, Alinta Thornton (2002). It is a report titled, 'Does Internet Create Democracy?'. This seems to be an excellent report because it relates to the impact of the Internet on the social sphere, formation of political will, online voting, interactivity ,to name but a few. I think this will be very useful toward the argument I want to develop for this essay. Thornton (2002) states,

'In my view, the explosion of direct participatory democracy Rheingold hoped for is highly unlikely to eventuate merely as a result of the Internet's existence'.

I believe this may be a useful quote in order to support my argument

I want to develop a paragraph each for the 'pros's and con's, which may relate to democracy and the Internet. I found an online article written by, Daniel Kohanski (2008). Which relates to these aspects I wish to discuss in my essay. The article is titled, 'The Internet's Impact on Democracy'. It is useful as it gives a balanced approach to the issue. An aspect which should not be omitted in an essay. I want to give a balanced approach to my essay,by also keeping in mind my main argument or thesis statement.

The Utopian Fantasy

There was once a time, not so long ago, when the Internet was still yet to be birthed. Many people had a dream. An unrealistic dream, some could say. Some members of our society looked for the pure fantasy which has always been a prevalent wish in the depths of the human Psyche. They believed that maybe, just maybe, all our problems in society could be solved by one thing, the INTERNET. With computers anything could be possible, deliveries would be instant and only a mouse click away. Man and society would be that bit close to what he has always been seeking...Power over his surroundings.

These ideals were exonerated by popular culture via 'space opera'. Stories set in far off futures often are adept at fulfilling the power fantasy that man so wishes for.

But then reality hit. The Internet, and computers are yes, very powerful things. But we do not live in a utopia and the Internet has not entirely lived up to its potential.

Much of lecture 9's focus was on 'Utopia and the Internet'. Originally people believed that things like search engines on the net, would be incredible. To a certain degree they are and we have come along way from the days without computers. What some people didn't count on was how difficult it can be to actually find what you are truly looking for on these search engines. Users spend so much of their time sorting through rubbish which doesn't even relate to what they wanted in the first place, and in general society overestimated what computers were capable of.

The net can be fantastic for the experimenter. A significant amount of money is circulated for the production of various web sites, in order to make a profit. Because of the Internet being a largely unpredictable business sector, many companies find that they are popular one day and not so popular the next. They therefore lose and gain notable amounts of money. The reason for the Internet's unpredictability, has a lot to do with the fact that it is a social area which is always changing, just as trends in society do also. Sites find that to survive they must reach their own niche market of sorts.

A site like 'Uncyclopedia', is an example of a form of utopia. meaning that users can change information to suit their needs and everyone can contribute.

I suppose you could say that because sites survive on the net by having their own 'niche' market, that these social groups allow for a form of utopia. Various sites gather massive amounts of popularity, sites about, lets face it often pretty strange things. Net cartoons like 'Home star Runner' make a significant amount of money from their niche market, who in turn buy their products (like t-shirts) over the net.

Groups such as second life, were able to group together to affect the overall function of the net, when they protested about advertising on their site. Notably, their site is a representation of a 'Utopian society', where everything is possible. And according to the lecturer Josh, (interesting fellow....) people go to these sites not so much for what is offered on them, but largely to communicate with one another.

Josh's site: http://www.secrettechnology.com/, makes fun of a lot of issues posed in society. He has done this by finding a way to effectively link literature with interactive games...worth a look.

Can Democracy Prevail?

As part of week eight's tutorial tasks, we were required to do a set of activities. Completing as many as possible, while staying true to our own personal political beliefs. Firstly I was shocked that the government are still pondering over the possibility of implementing a censorship to Internet content in Australia. A filtering system of sorts, in an attempt to make the Internet more 'pure' or christian.

The thing that bothers me personally is, who gets to decide what should be dubbed as pure or impure content? Don't we as citizens have a democratic right to make our own choices? While I understand that the government wants to reduce improper porn on the Internet and protect our children. I truly believe that allowing too much content control on the Internet would be a negative thing for several reasons. Notably, the sites that may be censored could affect our democratic notion of free speech in general. Secondly, I found a site regarding this issue ,after googling the words 'censor and content Australia': http://nocleanfee.com/learn.html

This site contains a significant amount of evidence as to why this implemntation would be detriemental to Australia. There are several reasons why this change should not take place, apart from democratic reasons. The site is dedicated to eradicating the mere possibility of this change. Therefore this group are exercising their Democratic rights. The site stated that if this move were to take place, it would slow down the Internet in Australia, as the Internet is not a system which can be filtered easily without problems. It would also cost the Australian government quite a lot of money to implement. It argues that this money should logically be used on other more important things such as education and ways sustainable ways to protect children.

Adam, asked us to fill out an e-perdition while adhering to our political views. I found a perdition on the site against censoring Internet content. I readily signed it as I don't believe the move would help our society, but rather it may restrict the voices of many groups. It could be a way for our government to censor any voice that do not want to hear, and therefore could lead to a form of 'Fascism'. So far 29949 people have signed, if you would like to do so make an informed choice, click on the following link:
http://pedition.irgweb.org/oznetcensorship

Another activity I decided to complete which was recommended by Adam, was to find out what Barack Obama had been up to lately. To find this out I decided, to google the words 'Obama and Twitter'. I figured that he would be on twitter, as I heard he is quite committed to using these new forms of communicative technology to reach his publics. On the 23rd of September , 2009, Barack, was in New York meeting various world leaders at the United Nations. He also made a speech during this event. It's pretty incredible that the Internet allows so many people to know exactly where he is. If you would like to become a fan of Barack OBAMA on twitter,(as I know I would have voted for him if I was American)go to: http://twitter.com/barackobama

A little harmless fun: Fake News Story

The task for week seven was to create another video. I decided to make a fake news story, just as Adam suggested at the lecture for week six. I cannot begin to explain how tedious it has been to put my video on this blog. It has also been a particularly nasty week for me (not that I'm asking for sympathy).Making the video wasn't hard, but it seemed there were unseen forces at work preventing me from uploading the video. Let me explain, firstly I ran out of broadband and my computer refused to upload the video. Secondly I had to go to the campus library to try and upload it, it ran out of time so I had to move to another computer, oh and I accidentally erased the first version. This video is not incredible, rather it is quite silly. But, I hope that it can be at least mildly entertaining for you, my fellow bloggers. See, even the weakest videos effect society...maybe in some small way.

The Political and the Internet

To be specific, lecture eight did not technically take place. Due to our University's staff exercising (what I believe to be), their democratic rights. By coincidence,(hum mm...or not?...) democracy had a lot to do with Stephen Stockwell's lecture. Specifically, the lecture was concerned about how the Internet poses new political possibilities for our society.The Internet, being a social or communicative sphere logically meant that notions of democracy, would of course arise. The only way people implement democracy is through the communication of ideas, moralities, and societal values with one another. Stephen, wrote about the growing virtues of 'cyber-politics' and 'E-democracy', both courtesy of the Internet.

So what is cyber politics? To me it is people expressing their political ideas via the Internet for the Internet. This can often take place on 'blogs' or other social spheres available on the net. E-democracy, is users contributing to political events or ideas, that take place mostly, outside the Internet world. It is a new way for the populace to communicate their ideas, about political parties and their rule in general. At present we live in a 'representational democracy', or what i like to call an 'illusionary democracy'. Arguably, we have never lived in a 'direct' or 'true' democracy. Even though, many political analysts state that ancient Greece showed a close representation of democracy (due to the fact that citizens were able to have their say on state affairs and vote). They forget to mention, that women and slaves were not given the same 'Democratic' virtue. To me 'true democracy', would mean that all decisions are made by the people for the people. An equal rule so to speak...but maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. The closest we have ever as a society in general, come to true democracy, is the ability to vote (which does not occur all that often). Of course political analysts say, that if the populace voted on every decision made by government, this would be so time consuming that nothing would ever get done.

As the lecture stated, there has been a serious reduction in people actually willing to vote. Why is this? Is it because they feel that they are only given 'representational' power? That their voices are not truly listened to? Maybe the Internet offers a new way for people to develop and implement democracy... There has been transformations in the public sphere due to new communication technologies, such as the Internet. We are now in what is called the 'second media age'. Where we have the ability to produce new politics of sorts, because now a multitude of people can communicate to a huge portion of other people. So, can the Internet bring us that bit closer to a true or direct democracy? Well arguably the second media wave, allows more people to have a say and possibly become more politically informed. People are affecting each other. But are they affecting the government's decisions? Well, if we use the case of Barack Obama election, than yes. The number of people voicing their oppions and complaining about the Republic party via cyber politics, was enormous. The amount of blogs written in support of the now elected president, was huge. Even to this day there is an 'I support Barack Obama' group on Facebook.

Because of the communicative nature of the Internet, it allows not only for users to take part in self expression, but also helps them to seek out the truth and be more critical of the world around them. Net users have a voice if not a face. Citizens are in effect able to recognise their political voices, which I believe almost every net user has done to some degree. Also, The more informed people are of the world the more likely they will question their environment and exercise personal democracy.

The net raises questions often concerning free speech and censorship. the groundwork of democracy. Democracy it can be said, cannot be exercised without the notion of free speech. There have be battles between what should be censored on the net and what should be considered to be free speech. Even if someone is censored eventually, the information has already been circulated, and therefore it has served its purpose. Conflict can often arise between free speech and copyright. Because who is to say that someone who downloads music off the Internet is not just exercising their free speech?

Hackers in society generally, have a bad name. We think of them as being people who may steal our credit card details on the net. But are they possibly just anarchists who reject society telling them what to do? They believe in the free and open exchange of ideas and data. In my brother's word's: They reject society's reality and implement their own (kudos!!!).Why not? The idea of democracy, often springs up ideas of the 'cyberpunk'. A cyber punk (often a hacker), is seen as a reaction in the literature world and in popular movie culture, to the safe story lines of 'space opera'. The cyberpunk fights against the conformations of society and searches for democracy in far off realites..He/she is connected to the science fiction genre mainly, and often rebels against governing bodies.

The cyberpunk might be you or I. Publishing a reaction to a political decision on the Internet via a blog. Starting an online perdition or downloading soft-wear when the government said we couldn't. He or she is a reaction possibly, to the restrictions imposed on us by the government.

Creative Transparency

Lecture seven's focus was on the notion of free culture and free content sharing, which takes place within the Internet meta-scape and how it relates to copyright in general. The fact that the Internet is significantly based upon the aspects of sharing information created by others, means that concerns can arise regarding copyright laws. So a mid-way of sorts was established in 2002, named 'Creative Commons'. Creative Commons, is a non-profit organisation whose duties allow net creators the ability to dictate how their creations are used by others. The whole point of it is protect the creator from another using their work, for purposes they did not intend. It can increase the freedom that users have to share information or decrease it. Six main license types can be selected from the site, starting with the limited attribution coverage to the more intense, attribution non-commercial no derivatives license.

According to our lecturer Adam Muir, much of the Creative Commons philosophy emerged from users who wanted more freedom with various computer softwear. Before there was a market in computer softwear, intellectuals shared embed codes among each other. When the industry began to take off more restrictions were put out by companies such as Microsoft. People like Richard Stallman began the idea of creating so called 'free' softwear, which could be altered and used by others as they saw fit. He believed that users should be entitled to the 'four freedoms'. Meaning, they should be able to; run the program as they wished, adapt it to their own needs, make copies and distribute their alterations and in general have the option to improve that softwear. Nowadays, the notion of 'free' softwear, has been replaced by 'open', because there are always costs involved.

Today there are many 'open' versions of soft wear available on the Internet, which are similar and or almost identical to 'propriety' programs. The plus is you don't have to pay for them and you can often change features, which you could not do with a windows version. Take FireFox for example (I happen to know a little trick where you can speed up certain features, like downloads). FireFox is also fairly secure, and in some respects almost better than Internet Explorer. 'Open' softwear is also necessary for students like me who can't afford to purchase Microsoft office for example. But, who desperately need a word processor!!

Well, the whole point of 'Creative Commons', seems to be to make it easier for users to share information and grow from each other. What I am concerned about though, is the protection of the artist. Problems can arise between general proof of authorship sometimes. We should be asking ourselves the question: does creative commons really protect the artist or creator? With the help of Creative Commons, another artist can build or inspire off another. Is this just? Is this not plagiarism? Apparently not if the author allows it. But, it all seems rather messy to me, especially if not handled correctly.

Though, one thing to consider, is that every creator has at some point been influenced by another. Many singers, dancers, authors, and painters have taken information or art, grown from it as artists and then made their own 'original' contribution.

It reminds me of a quote by the surrealist painter Salvador Dali,

"Begin by learning to draw and paint like the old masters. After that, you can do as you like."

If we can grow from each other as artists,surely, that is a great thing. I just hate to think that the original creators may be lost in midst of vast creative transparency.

My Video: Maybe You Should Reconsider Internet Chatting...

For week 6 we were required to post a short video about anything. This is a silly little video I made, about how chatting to people on the Internet is not all it's cut out to be...I realise that this is not exactly a work of art. But, I tried my best in the limited amount of time I had. I had to juggle a number of other assessments. To me it was important to make a video that actually had a social meaning behind it, relating to the Internet. Hope you like it. I now truly understand the meaning behind what many directors say, 'never work with children or animals!!!One out of two, and I'm feeling pretty exhausted....

A Consumer Revolution

Week six's lecture focused mainly, on how the lines dividing consumer and producer of media, such as videos, have become inextricably blurred nowadays. This is thanks to the new media sharing options out there. The major being the Internet. It is really needless to say that the incredible popularity of the Internet as a media and information source has a lot do with 'you' and 'I', the consumer. According to our lecturer, Josh Nicholas, in the past consumers have been "passive receivers" of content. Meaning, that they were only able to watch media but not affect its process. But thanks to what we can achieve with our humble computer, phone or other portable devices, this is changing significantly.

The Internet, has become increasingly popular as a form of media. Especially among the youth of society. In my opinion for two notable reasons. Firstly it allows the consumer to access a significant amount of differing types of content at one convenient source. Secondly, it allows for a high level of content control. This is most likely the reason why there has been a decline in revenue of other media,such as television and newspapers.

Like our lecturer mentioned, problems do of course arise when we use small portable devices such as our mobiles or personal media players to access content, due to the fact that often the file sizes are too big and the screens too small. Though, these types of devices are useful when assessing the news or the smaller 'episodic' videos on YouTube. Mobile phones are also frequently used today for people to write on their own or others 'blogs'. At the pleasure of their own convenience and privacy.

Not only can the consumer now choose what they want to watch by accessing the Internet, via their computer or a portable device such as their phone, they are also increasingly able to become the producer. There are many ways in which we the consumers are affecting the process of content. Thanks to various programs such as Windows Movie Maker and sites like YouTube, even the most meagre or inexperienced consumer, can try their hand at movie making. According to Josh many of the first movies produced by consumers for consumers on the Internet, were so called 'fan edits', or spin offs of particular films, series or paraphernalia, which In turn were guaranteed viewage by consumers who were also fans. The trouble the consumer faces nowadays, is sorting through a lot of rubbish available on the Internet and on sites like YouTube. A task which can be rather annoying if you are net surfing on you phone. But I suppose one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Those who in the past were just mere consumers of news available on television, are now able to often contribute in a multitude of ways. For example, the consumer can now produce videos, which can be used on television news reports. This was the case during a catastrophe, such as September eleven, where some of the content displayed on the news was sourced by those who were in the past, just consumers. Problems can arise when using a mobile phone to create a video, though. Notably, the picture and sound quality are rather poor, even on the best of phones. Budding camera men and women, can also upload their news related videos on various news sites. There is unfortunately, no real guarantee that the video depicted actually related to the news issue at all. Rather it could actually be a sadistic student with too much time on their hands, who thought they would mess with a few avid news watchers.

New media, such as portable entertainment devices, mobiles and the Internet in general, has revolutionised not only the way in which content is accessed but who creates the content. This was a step that was extremely necessary in a democratic society. Content by the people, for the people.

The Internet Tragedies

I heard a story on the radio a couple of nights ago, which got me thinking about about the power of the Internet. The story noted that during 2009 alone, there have been 29 reported 'Internet suicides'. These people who eventually took their own lives, did so after careful planning during 'chat sessions', where other suicidal users edged them onto a morose fate. Of course not all the people who took part in these 'chats' eventually took their own lives. Some, were much too concerned with giving dark words of suicidal encouragement to others. This truly disgusted me.

Surely, the people who decided to take part in these sorts of chat sessions, were really just crying out for help? These people felt immense inner pain, no doubt, and they needed someone to listen to them. Someone who could understand their pain.

So, a group of lost souls found themselves in the private, yet public, confines of the Internet meta-scape, ominously linked together in tragedy

I am not suggesting that these people who committed suicide on the Internet, were not unstable to begin with. What I am saying, is that very often people are greatly influenced by those whom they communicate with. Sometimes, all someone needs are the right words (or in this case the wrong words) to get them in just the right psychological frame of mind to commit suicide. The Internet, it could be said, is also an incredibly intimate form of communication. Meaning, that even though the Internet is a very public sphere, social networks, often make the individual feel as if they are in their own little world.

A great example of this was the case of another story, I heard about not long ago. It was the story of a young girl who was bullied so much over the Internet, that she eventually killed herself. This young girl did not plan to take her own life well in advance, but did so after being psychologically abused on a social network by another girl. Hanging sentences, to the affect of "why don't you just kill yourself" and "you're a waste of space", were sent to her repeatedly by the other girl. These things that were said to her, were obviously extremely painful and had such profound effects on her, that she ultimately took her own life.

These awful instances reminded me yet again of the power a communicative medium like the Internet, can have on an individual. the Internet can literally put us in touch with just about anyone on the face of the earth. A complete psychopath or a friendly loner, just reaching out. The Internet does not segregate. Various individuals can communicate with one another, who in the past would never of had the opportunity to do so.

I think that also because the Internet allows a person to be anonymous if they so wish, it has the capacity to produce a sense of 'grandeur' from the 'speaker'. In other words, people are more likely to say the things that they would not dare to day to another individual on a face to face basis. People get careless with their words on the Internet, I have found. Forgetting ultimately, that words are incredibly powerful. They have the capacity to hurt or to heal another individual. The written words stays out there, especially in the web meta-scape.

To read a story that also relates to the shocking issue of Internet suicide, check out the following link: http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23218368-5014108,00.html

The Web 2.0 Community

I cannot believe it is already week five! This week's lecture for New Communication Technologies, focused mainly on the growth of community media. Media is described as being all forms of technology that are used in 'social' and or cultural communication. The lecture emphasised the fact that the Internet is becoming more and more of a social network or community in itself. Where all people, from different walks of life have the chance to have their say. Because of the Internet, groups of people can easily link together within a social network, a luxury they would not have had thirty years or so ago. Thanks to the aspects such as 'Web 2.0', a great percentage of what is on the Internet is now 'user generated'. Meaning that people are creating News stories, videos and more, for the masses of society to view, via applications such as Youtube or Flickr. Web 2.0 is focused on generating 'community' spirit apparently, and with connecting individuals with similar issues, or hobbies together. This is a big change from the 'old media' that used to be around, where people were only allowed to view sites. Now days, on almost every news feed, there is a link where you can post your own personal comments, Which can be seen by other users. The lecture called this version of the web, where anyone who can read or write can participate, the 'read- write web'.

Many industries, such as the recording industry or news media, would prefer that applications like blogging or YouTube, didn't exist. Due to the fact that people with differing opinions can voice their beliefs on the net. Actually, some bloggers can become very popular, attracting thousands upon thousands of hits every day. YouTube, is another perfect example of the power of community media. Anyone can upload a video and sometimes artists are even discovered on the net.

The problems I find that arise with community media, is the fact that because you are sharing information with many other users, whether it be music, a video or just your ideas about an issue. Anyone can find it on the net via a search engine, take it from you and reproduce it. Copywrite is often very hard to fully establish in social networks like Deviant art, for example. Everything you share on the Internet in general in these social networks, are not secure. Someone could take your photo and reproduce it (and your picture might end up as part of a Russian dating site).

People, are exchanging ideas more and more and I believe that is a good thing. But I would never post my music or creative writing on a social network. Due to the fact that many sites such as 'Live Journal' keep your information. What you might have written ten years ago , will still be there fifty years from now no doubt. It makes you wonder doesn't it? How secure are those conversations you have on Facebook? Somewhere out there is probably an entire file on 'Sophie' the Green-Lefty, protestor, being updated as we speak.

A Distorted Sense of Reality

I don't personally use Msn to chat to people (shock horror), nor have I ever spoken to people on the life imitation game, Secondlife. Actually, the closest I've come to using something similar, has been one of those Facebook applications called 'Sorority Life' (where you make a character and act like Paris Hilton). But, I quickly grew tired of this because, I would rather actually go shopping, then pretend I am doing so.

I believe that people who take part in 3D chat rooms do so for several notable reasons. Firstly, they are able to hide behind a facade, to possibly a greater degree than with something like an Msn chat room. Due to the fact that they do not rely on their personal picture, but rather on a computer generated manifestation. Subconsciously, the fact that nobody knows what they look like means, that they are somehow free from their own personal inadequacies. For example, a person who is not necessarily outgoing in real life could appear outgoing in the comforts of a 3D world, such as SecondLife. Many people who lack the initial confidence to form deep connections with other individuals in real life, are at ease in a 3D world. Are people who have inherent social inadequacies, more likely to relate to an Internet application, such as Secondlife? Well, in my opinion yes.


In general all people seem more confident on the Internet. I have a number of friends, who come across as very loud and outgoing on an application such as Facebook, but who in real life are actually quite shy. You could ask are these applications, whether they be IM programs, or 3D programs actually a good thing? Do they encourage us to be ourselves or do they actually encourage us to be more socially inept?

I find that people are more likely to chat to those they actually know on applications like Facebook or Msn. Due to the fact that you are reliant on your personal picture and you connect to people via a social network and or email. Whereas, 3D applications like SecondLife or Habbo Hotel, seem to attract people who are looking to meet new people. 3D applications are also not concerned with your real physical appearance. Everybody dreams of being someone else at least once in their life, and games like SecondLife, give you the illusion of just that. Living a fantasy can be attractive. Human beings in general never seem to be happy with their lives, always wanting something more, because they are rather masochistic creatures.

Both applications can bring people together, but the 3D games are more focused on fantasy then IM. I also believe that people are more likely to lie in a 3D environment, due to the sense of other-worldliness and freedom it creates.



I consider it better to actually take a chance and go live, rather then live in a distorted sense of reality....

The Intricacies of Search Engines

Well, logically I thought the best way to find out how a search engine works efficiently, was to look at the home page of every body's favourite search engine (drum roll), Google! The reason why Google has taken over the search engine market, is because it is superior to its counterparts. The last tutorial task I did, proved to me just how awful the other search engines really are (with the exception of maybe Yahoo, which is not too bad at finding things, I suppose). According to Google, the heart of their search engine technology is called 'PageRank'. It is apparently a system for ranking web pages, created by Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin (from Stanford University). In pigeon talk, the system works when a search request is submitted, 'it is routed to a data coup, where monitors flash results at blazing speeds. For each peck, the pigeon rank increases (or in human talk, for each person who searches for that item). The pages receiving the most amount of 'pecks are returned at the top of the user's results page, with the other results displayed in pecking order'. Parallel pecking, or the linking of groups of words is used to give the most relevant result possible (yes, that's right I thought I would use pigeon metaphors to confuse you). The Googlebot is an intricate system which finds web pages and automatically adds their full text to the Google index. This is done alphabetically of course. To improve its performance Google, does not list words such as; the, is,or, how, why etc (so if you have been including them in your search engine, sad you). It also, automatically converts all letters to 'lowercase'. All these little things help the intricate system work faster.

This proves how reliant we have become on Google and Wikipedia

Answering the following questions proved hard, without the convenience of using an intricate search engine, such as Google and Wikipedia;

. What did Alan Turing wear while riding his bicycle around Bletchly Park?
Alan Turing, was an extremely intelligent and rather under appreciated individual. He died at the young age of 42, in 1954. His peers (and society in general), considered him to be rather odd fellow. Especially when he was spotted wearing a gas mask, whilst riding a bicycle. (Maybe he thought he could start a trend?). Turing, obviously did not care one bit what people thought of him and I pat him on the back for that. I have never met an extremely intelligent individual (or artist), who was not at least a little bit eccentric. I believe eccentricity is good for the soul!I started out trying to find the answer to this question at 'Bing.com'. I had no luck and was starting to get rather cranky. But I did research it again on the Yahoo search engine, just to check, and found the following site relating to Alan Turing http://historyarticles/enigma.html

2. On what date did two computers first communicate with each other? I used yahoo to find out this answer. I originally tried with 'Bing.com', but had no luck. Yahoo came up with the answer straight away, which is why it secures 3nd place for me, as most valuable search engine. It turns out that two computers (according to author of the site, Tech Republic, Jay Garmon), first communicated with one another on the 20th of October, 1969. A 'refrigerator-sized interface mass processor', which worked as the 'world's first, packet-switching router' at Stanford University, finally communicated with a computer from UCLA (Though, only after seven long weeks of being connected). The computer from UCLA, only managed to only send 'two characters' to the other computer at Stanford, before having a system meltdown. Those two character, were the letters 'L' and 'O', an abbreviation of the word 'Hello'. Some people consider this interaction to be the true birth of the Internet, whereas others just believe it was the first example of an 'email'. Goes to show that computers, really have come a long way.
This information was sourced from the following site; http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5842105.html

Where were they? See the above answer. At Stanford University and UCLA, in America.

3. What is Bill Gates’ birthday and what age was he when he sold his first software? I used the search engine 'Bing.com' to find out all the information I could on the life and progress that Bill Gates has made. Bill, was born on October 28th 1955 (which suggests he is getting on in years!). He began developing soft-wear in the late 1970's and in 1981, completed an operating system called called 'MS-DOS', though his company Microsoft. It order to present this program to the populace, Bill had to work through IBM computers. As they were the biggest company dealing with computers at the time no doubt. He made a deal with IBM, which meant that for every computer that they sold with the 'MS-DOS' program, he would get a royalty payment. Of course the percentage of this royalty was most likely quite low. But due to the huge interest that was building in relation to computer in general, he began to generate a healthy income. All the noted information was sourced from the following website:
http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b4gatesb.htm

4. Where was the World Wide Web invented? A scientist called Tim Burners-Lee invented the 'world wide web', (the trinity of double u's you see at the beginning of every web page), when he was working at CERN (European Organisation for nuclear research), in 1989 in Geneva Switzerland. The concept was to link the technologies of the home computer with the 'computer networking and hypertext' into an interesting and broad 'Global information system'. This information was sourced from the following site. http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/About/Web-en.html

5. How does the power of the computer you are working on now compare with the power of a personal computer from 30 years ago? It's like comparing a Ferrari to a Tortoise.
Computers, during the 1970's were much bigger machines that those we have now. Mainly due to the fact the there were more components needed, to get them to work. Computers in the 1970's, were considered 3rd generation. As they used new 'integrated circuits', made of silicon. These chips were later improved to those we use in computers today, 'Miniaturisation chips'. the Micro-chips we use today, are made of semi-conductor materials, which house as many as '10 million transistors on 10sq. cm. Finding exact information about the evolution of computer power over the last thirty years, proved harder than I initially thought.
This was all I could find on Yahoo from the following site; http://members.lycos.fr/jcviel/contents2/computers.htm

6. What is the weight of the largest parsnip ever grown? Sorry, but who came up with these questions? Do I have nothing better to do than read about the growth of parsnips? Sadly, through my arduous research, I found that there are a lot of sites devoted to the growth of over-sized vegetables. Okay, if you are forcing me to answer (and I know full well that you are). The largest parsnip ever grown, was rather ugly. It resembled a malformed animal. It weighed eight pounds, six ounces (and NO I am not going to convert that to kilograms!). It won an award at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, held in Ontario (Canada). Its father (and the winner of that prestigious award) was Norman Craven. Who obviously does have a lot of time on his hands.
I also found out, that they are rather nice in salads or as an ingredient to soup (sigh). It took a chunk out of my busy schedule, but I finally found the answer from the following site; www.vintageassessments.com.vd/raw

7. When did Queensland become a state and why is the Tweed River in New South Wales?
Queensland became a separate state from New South Wales, on the 6th of June 1859, as far as I know (or was it the 9th?). The Tweed River is in New South Wales, only just, because it is a river which is situated right next to the Queensland Border.

8. What was the weather like in south-east Queensland on 17 November 1954? From memory I remember hearing that their was a significantly nasty cyclone in that year, in south-east Queensland. But I went on the Yahoo search engine (which believe it or not was the first search engine I ever used), in order to confirm my suspicions. I just typed in 'South East Queensland, November 17th 1954'. But according to the Bureau of Meteorology, there seemed to have only been very bad thunderstorms, which caused a large amount of flash-flooding. Areas which seemed to have been hit were the Darling Downs. Many rivers, such as the Condamine, spilled over due to the intense level of rain. I found this information from the following site;
http://www.bom.gov.au/hydro/flood/qld/fld_history/floodsum_1950.

9. Why is is Lord Byron still remembered in Venice? Lord Byron, is remembered in Venice, due to the fact that he lived there at 'Palazzo Mocenigo', On the Grand Canal. I already knew that Lord Byron lived in Venice. But this site I found from the yahoo search engine, confirmed my theory. http://keepingit-realtor.com/2008/09/friday-featur-3.html This site also has some nice pictures of Lord Byron's 'Palazzo', which suggest that the crazy poet must have been very wealthy. I wouldn't mind living there my self, drinking coffee and eating nice Italian food by the water, while writing captivating novels (sigh). It is no wonder Lord Byron spent so much time there (writers need inspiration no doubt). Oh almost forgot, Lord Byron was also remembered most likely, for his odd amorous adventures (odd is an understatement). I am quite sure he became famously involved with a Venisian countess there. He was a rather odd man and I won't go on about the people he had relations with, but lets just say many of them were rather strange choices, such as his half-sister.


10. What band did Sirhan Chapman play in and what is his real name?
He plays keyboard for the band The Black Assassins. I found this out courtesy of the Yahoo search engine. Finding out what his real name actually is was a lot harder than I thought. Then I found out it was Steve Stockwell!!! What? wait a minute...isn't that our lecturer's name, Stephen Stockwell? It seems, Mr Stockwell has a musical past. ah I see this was a trick question... Or could it be a publicity stint for the band? Maybe the black assassins are making a comeback? who knows. If you don't believe me check the following site http://members.optusnet.com.au/~toxicoh/blackas
According to this site, the Black Assassins were an unruly bunch, who often wore camouflage to conceal their identities. Tres dangereux!

I found the task of answering all these questions, without the help of Google or Wikipedia, to be harder than expected. I knew the answer to a few of them, but looking for the others was just plain annoying ( Note to self: Starting to have an inkling, that the convenors of this course are getting sadistic joy from their students pain).

New Media: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I remember hearing about mobile phones as a small child. Back then they were rather large, black and folded out with an antenna. Nobody I knew owned one (except the rich lady up the road). Certainly no children my age owned a mobile, and the closest I came to having one was my 'candy filled phone'. It was not till the year 2000 (or 2001), that I acquired a mobile phone. It was a pink and black flip phone and also one of the first to have the 'new' ability to conjure 'text messages'. Pure splendor, it seemed. Regardless of society telling me I needed a 'new and trendy' phone in order to conform to 'the norm', I have since only ever owned two other phones (which I think has to be some kind of record for a female my age in this part of the world).

But, I have begun to notice the downside of using new media. Firstly, what ever happened to writing a nice letter, something me and my long distance friends use to do frequently as children? I still try and make the effort to write or send a card in the mail, but life has become so fast these days with new technology, that buying in to it is almost the only way to keep up. Texting someone, is more convenient that being stuck on the phone with great aunt Glenda for two hours (I don't actually have a great aunt Glenda, but you get my drift?).

Unfortunately there is something sad and mechanic about all the new media, with which the youth of society are now faced with. You often find that your friends abbreviate so much, that you have to read the message a dozen time in order to get the gist. Misunderstandings can also occur and you find yourself thinking whether someone is being short with you or friendly.

But here is a prediction for the future, which will see that the world of literature has a breakdown. In the year 2080, nobody will bother to write correctly. They will abbreviate so much that the English language as we know it will be substituted with a mix of numbers and rough consonants and vowels, and we will only have the virtues of Msn and texting to thank for that.



I refused to conform to using Facebook for many years, until I recently was convinced to join by my friends and family who live overseas. It can be a viable way to connect to Friends and family. some of whom I have never even met. Making the vast kilometres separating us, only a click away. But although an application, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Msn can bring people together, it can also give us a false sense of reality. I will not chat to people whom I have never met and am not related to, due to the fact that on the web anyone can adopt whatever persona they wish. While some could argue that people in 'real life' also adopt a persona to some degree, it is much easier to do so behind the facade of a computer screen.

My father suggested to me years ago,(when the Internet was beginning to take over the world) that it would be used as a tool for the fascists of society to harbour as much information as possible about every living soul on the planet (and some dead ones too). Looking back I believe he was very correct on the subject. Most of the new forms of media, such as the Internet are incredibly useful as a form of market strategy tool. Google, for example, knows and stores the most popular sites in the world. This is deduced from every click the populice make. Public Relation Practitioners, now use also use Internet databases more and more, as do many companies.

Like it or not everything you do or write on the Internet is being watched. You might not even know it, but someone may be watching you watching me as we speak.....

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words.....

A picture paints a thousand words, so they say. A cliche I know but undoubtedly true. The art of film making, is a relatively new form of communicative technology. Hence, the reason why it formed the basis of week three's lecture content. It is said that the first example of a series of pictures being edited together to form a narrative occurred in approximately the year, 1903. Back then the art of 'Cine-speak' (or the language, terms used in film production), as the lecture called it. Was restricted by the cameras available at the time (Nasty and strange cardboard-box looking things, no doubt). As this new technology slowly began to evolve, many budding directors started to notice the endless possibilities that the art of film could achieve. It could communicate themes and ideas to the masses in an entertaining and convenient fashion.

As the lecture empathised, 'shots' have the ability to replace words with their powerful meaning. This is most likely why even silent films are effective in displaying meaning. You might have noticed this also if you have ever watched a movie with the sound turned off (I don't' no why, maybe you were too lazy to reach for the remote from the depths of your couch). These 'shots' presented with various differing angles, constitute a language. For example, a close up makes us focus on the 'who', one or more item (or actor) in particular. long shots are often used to tell us "where' the scene or story is taking place. The 'What' aspects can be established in a film, by a mid-shot and often extreme closeups are used to describe the 'Why'. The how of narrative can be described by a series of close ups and or a medium close up. But variations are often used in the process of film making. These various angles and techniques are used to make us become intimately involved with the story and or characters.

The art of film is a powerful and beautiful medium, which can often be used to help us think about society and the issues that effect us. Unfortunately, It can also be used as a destructive tool for propaganda. How could the language of film create propaganda you might ask? Well, like any form of communication, it relates various messages to whoever watches it. Because the viewer is entertained by the 'mise en scene' of a film, they often miss the spider's web of propaganda beneath.

Take the movie 'Top Gun' (1986) for instance. A 'high concept' film, (romance aimed at women and a lot of action for the boys). Yet all the while it tricks its audience through the language of cinema, in order to propagate the U.S government's glorification of war. Also, have you ever noticed the effective placements of various items in movies such as Coca Cola or Long Beach cigarettes? (oh dear, I was advertising as we speak!!!) All of these are effectively placed in order to send a direct message to our brains to purchase such items. It is no wonder that as soon as films started being made, various Public Relations practitioners started latching on to its effectiveness as soon as they had the chance.

Of course film, is not always used for propaganda. Like any communicative technology, it has the ability to do good. It can be a beautiful and incredibly powerful medium, which can make us think about the rights and wrongs of our society. It can give 'the little guys' a voice too. Due to the fact that it is a language in itself.

The growth of New Communication Technologies: The Omnipotent computer

This video I found on YouTube, titled 'The Future of Communication', presents an analysis of how the major and relatively new communication technology, the computer, has and will continue to take over all our other media in our society. The video is set in the future, (2054 to be exact) and in gives us a theoretical regression, of how the computer took over the world. it shows how the computer took over all other media and we slowly began to live like robots, seemingly disconnected from one another. According to the video, in the future the online game 'Second Life', will replace life as we know it. Google, will become one of the biggest companies of the world and it will buy Microsoft. The person, who is said to be voicing the video, is Phillip K. Dick (This is most likely not true, as it seems whoever is speaking does not have an American accent). It is important to note that, thinker and author Phillip K. Dick, wrote quite a bit about the impacts of New Technologies, such as computers on the health of society.

Despite how far fetched this video may seem, it does present some very valid sociological points. Firstly, has the Internet really brought us closer together as a society, or are we becoming more and more shut out from each other? Do we find the 'Net Illusion', of something like 'blogging' to be a more comfortable way to voice our opinions, because we are becoming detached from the physical realities of conversation?

It is of course true that the Internet does have its benefits. We are able to connect to people kilometers away in an instant. Information is seemingly a mouse click away. The world has no doubt become a smaller place. But, also a less intimate one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu0ztxdsFis

Much Ado about Nothing

As you have probably already deduced by yourself, my name is Sophie. I am a full time university student (can I stress the 'full time' of 'student'?). The creation of this blog, is part of the learning criteria of a course I am currently doing. Named, 'New Communication Technologies'. Oddly enough, the idea of creating and maintaining a blog weekly (involving some lecture content), actually interests me. Most likely because I am someone who actually likes to write and adding my own 10 cents worth about any issue is also appealing. Maybe this is due to my opinionated nature, who knows.

I should note that I am more of a creative writer (in the making), rather than someone who can be told what to write. I was taught how to write in a rather unconventional way. Growing up in the 'bush', meant that I didn't go to school until high-school. But rather I was home tutored, by my philosophical parents, among an array of wildlife. When I first learnt how to spell at age four, I asked my mother if I could write a book of my own. She was no doubt surprised, but agreed to help me with the spelling. Words seemed to me at the time, fun and almost magical. It is sad but true, that as a child I would get into trouble for reading with a flashlight under the covers, or writing silly little stories.


As the years progressed I continued to write, poetry, short stories and music. But I have never had them published. Possibly due to some deep felt self doubt on my part, when it comes to talent.


Strangely, It was about the time I was in year 12, that something peculiar happened. I felt a lack of motivation to write anything anymore (maybe this was due to having too many assignments). Metaphorically speaking, my creative inkwell seemed to have all but dried up. And I began to hope that I wasn't one of those people, that couldn't write without some kind of 'inspiration'.


Luckily, I found a tool that I believe has helped me to get my ideas flowing again. I began to keep both a personal diary and a blog, which are both quite similar in nature (although there are some issues which must be quaintly reserved for a personal diary). It has helped me a great deal in expressing myself once again and forming ideas, which is why I believe it will be a beneficial aspect of the course I am doing.

The Evolution of the Computer

This week's lecture for New Communication Technologies, focused mainly, on the evolution of the computer. From the very large computers of the 1950's to our now common house-hold creature. It was IBM, who produced the first commercial computer, but the actual concept of computers in general, sprang to life surprisingly a long time ago. In the beginning computers were not electrical, rather they were powered mechanically. Charles Babbage, way back in the 19th century, designed a machine that would help initiate the concept of basic computers. Of course, his esteemed model was nowhere near the level of technology we have today, it was a mechanical engine of sorts which could calculate and print mathematical tables. (In my opinion, comparable to my rather cheap calculator). Nevertheless, it served the purpose most likely, of harbouring interest in computers. Sadly, Babbage like many talented inventors, never saw his model completed. Later, people such as Ada Byron (that rather odd fellow "Lord Byron's" daughter), also suggested many of the concepts we use today concerning computers.



What I believe is interesting, is that once the ground work was lain, mechanics turned to electric, large mother boards compressed into silica chips and bingo, the concept of the first house-hold computers slowly started to come into fruition in the early 1970's, thanks to our faithful nerds meeting and discussing new ideas in the area (or more pleasantly put, 'Our Intellectual Friends'). Our lecturer, Mr Stockwell called these meetings 'Home Brew meetings'. Where young intellectual people, would discuss computer concepts, whilst also most likely, consuming large quantities of beer (sounds like fun), Interestingly, the beer didn't seem to kill to many brain cells in these young people, as many concepts were expanded. One man who I can only assume, attended such meetings, was our old friend Bill Gates. At the time a youth no doubt. Gates is attributed to many advances in the I.T world. No wonder he is such a wealthy man (who I also heard has a big heart because he apparently donated millions of dollars to starving children in Africa, but that's beside the point). Before people like Gates, Stockwell suggested that computers were 'not very exciting', in the 70's and 80's. Much like watching paint dry. I can only imagine how time consuming it would have been,( as I was learning how to walk and computers didn't really interest me then). I do remember that people started a lot of talk about the net in around the year 1995. Due most likely, to that legendary Windows 95. It was around then that I used my first computer, (I have to admit I was fascinated, but was much more excited about the mega drive or the Sega Saturn). But without the evolution of the computer none of these electronics would exist, as they largely work on similar processes. Anyway, a very valid point that our lecturer also made was that, it is amazing how we have advanced so much technologically in so few years, compared to medieval times where society progressed very slowly in that respect. We have the computer to thank, well at least partially for that.

Simplicity At Its Best

This video clip by the group 'The Cruel Sea', is a perfect example of simplicity at it's best. There are no pictures, just the music and words on a black screen. Our lecturer Mr. Stockwell, used the video from 'YouTube' during our first lecture, as an example of how different medias are now interconnected. I found it interesting that lecturers now use quite a lot of information from the Internet in their sessions. It is just another example of how influential the internet has become in the past few years.I found this video to be to be a great example. Despite the rampant murmuring in the class room, the picture less video slowly began to transfix other students as well as myself. I was pulled into the story line. It had my attention, and I began to feel concern for the character and finally,and the end I held my breath in anticipation. To anyone who has not watched this video, lets just say you will not see it coming. Unlike many other artists, 'Cruel Sea', didn't need a showy video clip to get the basis of their song across. Their way it can be noted, was much more effective. They intricately and simply tell a story. Like any story, there are characters, a complication, and a crescendo. This points to the fact, that despite the many new forms of technology we have around us today. Sometimes simplicity is best.