7/23-7/29 Post 3: Virtual Death

I was blown away with the first paragraph when realizing that Kaycee wasn't real. I definitely thought this article was food for the soul. For someone to play a "game" like that in my opinion is crazy. Jordan describes the Internet as a way for people, "to reconstruct a tetherless online persona," (203). I find this extremely true. I remember earlier on in the year with a previous reading that spoke about the findings of using the Internet that actually boasted social relationships. This story proves this to be true with an online community blog. It also shows how people can become whoever they want. If I were one of the people a part of the community I would definitely feel betrayed and hurt. That's because I put a lot of my time, support and effort into allowing this person into my life and me into hers. I also like the concepts of rhetoric and authority that Jordan explains. It is ironic to think of it in the perspective of the virtual and online world.

7/23-7/29 Post 2: Burkitt Text

Out of all the Burkitt chapter's, I believe this one was my favorite chapter out of them all thus far. A lot of the ideas proposed and challenges faced from these ideas are things I have thought about completely agree with. I even found joy in disagreeing with a couple things as well. Since I can only point out a few concepts I will talk about the ones I found most interesting and relevant to life. The first is how society is moving away from "I" and moving toward "we". It is hard to imagine and see this concept in reality when everyone is wound up in themselves. But as I thought about it more, it makes more sense because "I" is created through the "we". Self identity is changing from what a person know to who a person knows. The other concept that I would like to highlight which relates to this last one is the concept of writing and rewriting one's self. Personally, I don't think self identity can be rewritten or even erased. A person's future is based off his or her past when trying to change oneself. That life had an impact was a reason as to why the new life will be different. The "old self" will always be a part of a person. The past will always haunt.

July 23-29 Post 1: The End of Books

In the article, "The End of Books," I have it extremely challenging to read and comprehend. For me it was the dry style of writing that kept my mind wandering and not fully knowing what Coover was discussing in terms of hypertext and the technicalities that go along with it. For one I did not find his metaphors and references to other pop cultures things to be helpful at all. I was a bit offended (if that is the right word) with his comment about God. As I kept reading, it made me think about the end of the concept of books. We are moving into an age, if we haven't already, that has to do with blogging and getting a point across. People's attention span has shortened and they like to browse and skim not really indulge in a novel anymore. It is fascinating however that this was written in 1992 and changes were already being foreseen and made. One concept I found interesting is that at that time the "multidirectional" linkages were the most radical new element of hypertext according to Coover on page 3. We take that for granted today.

7/16-7/22 Post 3: Research Topic

After doing some research and some thinking, I have decided to base my project off of Children and Media. I chose this topic for a couple of reasons. The first reason is out of curiosity. I have heard discussions that this may be an epidemic cause of obesity, lack of social skills and education. Children spend a lot of time on video games, computers and the television which deter them from other experiences. I also had a fear of this but with all the readings thus far, new media and children may not be as bad as everyone thinks. This world is moving toward everything being related to new media and fast. One day I will have children and I would like to know where children and media are headed. I have a niece and nephew, ages 4 and 8, who are heavily involved with media. At one point, I was scared that their childhood was lost. But I think that this research topic and project can help me find out more information that can perhaps help me teach them a few things about it. All in all I am very excited about this topic for the research project.

7/16-7/22 Post 2: Personal Dynamic Media

Where to even begin? This article is definitely food for the soul. The introduction to the article is breath taking. There is just so much information and history. I am astonished with what Kay and Goldberg discovered. While reading this article I felt like I was taking a flashback in time and there when this was happening. It is so amazing to read about the invention of the notebook computer and that they did not know what would come of them. One could only dream, and their dream became more than just a reality, it changed the world. And to think that they invented this from imagination and creation?! Today, no one thinks about the click of a mouse button and how it actually works or how/why it was invented. This article tells us all about that. I have a niece and nephew, ages 4 and 8, who will probably never think that the laptop is cool because they are growing up with it already existing in their lifetime. To think a 4-year-old has an iPod touch? It leaves me speechless that my niece does. Today, I still find the multiple-window display to be amazing and would love to get on the “other side” of a computer just to see how it works. And a little girl programmed a painting and drawing system, WOW. How she came up with the ideas of a menu and different options for brushes and what not, I wish I can have a great idea to change the world.

7/16-7/22 Post 1: Navigating Technomedia

I found this article to be very interesting and educational. It took information I already knew and taught me something more about it. There are a couple of ideas I would like to touch base on. The first is, "New media technologies became an integral part of not only the discourse of modernization, but of global justice," (2). I find this completely true. Things like medicine can be produced and provided throughout the world faster, safer and more efficient because of technology. The next thing is the definition of "technomedia". I now know that what Hulu does and the Xbox with Netflix for instance fall under the category of technomedia. The last thing that I found interesting and would like to point out is a quote from Richard Dienst, "The dreams of television were already global…televisaulity was immediately imagined as an all-encompassing putting-into-view of the world," (9-10). Now people can view the world from their own homes without having to move (Though it is not the same as being in the place, people now get a visual of what Japan or Spain look like). The television has also gone from making everything transparent in the world to very complex and virtual with all these sci-fi and fantasy shows.

7/9-7/15 Post 3: Second Life

This article, "Second Life," was interesting to say the least. I found numerous things though provoking and intriguing but I will touch upon a few. The first being the introduction to the article. I though it was great. It gave the readers an explanation and some examples about Second Life. It also gave readers a good tidbit about gender roles and avatars. A quote that struck out to me was, "As virtual spaces have been popularized, they have been both celebrated as an opportunity for liberation from conventional gender roles and criticized as white–male shaped spaces, filled with pornography, sexualization, and increased commodification," (6-7). This quote makes perfect sense though it is contradicting itself. This brings up another concept that people who participated in Second Life were "feeling pressure to fit in," (11). The virtual space was designed not to feel pressure and escape judgment, criticism, ridicule, etc. Virtual spaces were meant as an escape from real life yet people created it to be just that. The next thing I found interesting was the concept about autoenthrography. An interesting concept because it's about a connection between the individual and society through personal connection projected in Second Life. The last thing that I'd like to mention is what disturbed me about this. That is, female body parts were being sold in the virtual space. This is shown on page 14 in Figure 2. To me this is definitely stereotyping.

7/9-7/15 Post 2: From Computer Power and Human Reason

I found this article to not be so difficult to read. It definitely caught my attention. The fact that it was done and written in the 1960s has yet to cease to impress me. It's amazing the concept behind the conversation between the computer and person. I am always astonished how people come up with thoughts and inventions that later change the world. I can barely think straight. The project ELIZA/Doctor was able to hold a conversation for quite some time given the circumstances of input/output and the computer not knowing what it meant.  In the article, when the words "new media" were used, I could not help smiling and laughing thinking about what it means today compared to what it meant back then. It is also crazy how during this study, people expressed their inner most thoughts and feelings to the computer. Emotional bonds were made only after a short period of time. I still think this is true in today's world. I know I freak out if I misplace my computer or phone and lots of people revolve their lives around their cars and technology. Lastly, ELIZA being only a simple small step in research has had  so much impact and significance on technology and computer to humans today.

7/9-7/15 Post 1: The Technology and the Society

Like most of the articles I have read this semester, "The Technology and The Society," was another challenging article to read yet an interesting one. In the first page alone, there was so much information given. Cause and effect of everything, between everything is so complex. I have never thought of connecting television and psychology and technology and society for instance. He goes on in detail later on to discuss these versions of technology and the causes. Another interesting aspect is that of technological determinism. "The steam engine, the automobile, television, the atomic bomb, have made modern man and the modern condition," (pg 3). What an interesting concept. I thought man made all those things. But to look at it from this viewpoint, we are capable of doing more and are almost restricted as well. Technology is a gift and a curse to humans. And the last interesting concept I found intriguing was the change in the meaning of the word "mass". It went from meaning "the mob" in the 19th century to 'large numbers" in the 20th century.