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.