Marshall McLuhan - The Global Village

(interview starts at 3.00)

This interview is from 1960, Marshall explains about how the role of the book is changing as new electronic media is starting to emerge. He talks about how the world is becoming connected through television and radio and how the world seems 'smaller' because of this. I think it's interesting to look at their predictions and compare it to the vast amount of media and technology we have become reliant on now.

The term global village is defined as: : 'the world viewed as a community in which distance and isolation have been dramatically reduced by electronic media (as television and the Internet) 

(http://www.merriam-webster.com)

could this the the starting point of creating a new identity online?

http://www.fakenamegenerator.com

According to David Phillips its very hard to create a new identity which is probably the opposite of what i thought, Phillips says that the its hard because the real person will start to emerge

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8929854.


skip to then end.

Developing an online identify is something that is created largely through what people wright about themselves. Reading more on identity Sue Barns who I've posted some bits from earlier points out whiles talking about emails, that people develop a certain style through typing.

 

A person defines them self through what they wright, so a person must create a certain style of writing to express themselves. But the written text can lac emotion and things can easily be miss interpreted.

The death of Print?

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/420329/predicting-the-death-of-print/

'That predictions for the “death of print” changed so drastically in the span of just two years tells us something about where we are on the hype and/or adoption curve of e-readers and their ilk. Which is to say: we are coming up on an inflection point, beyond which rates of adoption explode, feedbacks and network effects kick in, and total market penetration becomes inevitable. How long will it be before it becomes unprofitable to continue to operate huge printing plants when a majority of your customers get your product through the Internet, and for whom your distribution costs are essentially zero? We’re about to find out.'

This short article talks about how long print can last against the new digital ways of printing media can last. Today there are app's for everything, including magazines, books, news papers so why would people go out to find these in shops when they can instantly download them from the comfort of their own homes, in some cases for free. These advances in technology will definitely effect designers as more work will have to be produced purely to be viewed in pixels rather than print. 

How important is the Internet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf7ea8qnB5E

Find it hard to believe that more people don't think they could survive without the internet rather than water

Experiment

I'm planning on running a little experiment over the weekend, counting how many times I use social medias and which ones in one day.

How the internet has changed Graphic Design

Technology has had a huge impact on graphic design, designers have had to 'rethink' and 'embrace' new ways of working. The internet has had both positive and negative impacts on Graphic Design. 

Designers showcase their work through websites, blogs, online portfolio's which can be seen by people all over the world, instantly. This has changed the way designers can contact and communicate with clients and, for students today, the most practical way to contact potential employers is initially via email. 

However the internet is open to the good, bad and ugly of design. There are countless websites and portfolio's that offer 'cheap' design where the offer seems too good for clients to turn down. The article below describes design on the internet as being 'a jungle out there.'

'In pre-web days, designers worked on hourly rates (or quoted projects based on the number of hours projected) and while hourly billables are ultimately better for the designer (they get paid for how long they work) and often times the client (they can choose how much time, and effort, goes into the development of their corporate identity) at the end of the day, this isn’t a practical approach to pricing services via the Internet.'

http://www.thelogofactory.com 

Sense of Self

 

 

Whilst looking at cyber cultures one areas that I have found interesting is the idea of identity on the internet. I've been doing some reading on it and I think the beginning section of this article asks and interesting question. It points out that when cyber communities are created they treat the meeting place like a 'public space' yet eliminating the face to face contact. Yet we apparently need this physical contact with people and objects to develop a sense of self. So how can we achieve that on the internet and how do we present ourselves to others on the internet?

Cyberbullying

With the rise of cybercultures and social medias, cyberbullying is becoming more common and a real threat to young people online. Cyberbullying was becoming a real problem at our school just before we left.

I found some really interesting and worrying facts about cyberbullying.

1. Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. 1 in 4 has had it happen more than once.
2. 70% of students report seeing frequent bullying online.
3. Over 80% of teens use a cell phone regularly, making it the most common medium for cyber bullying.
4. 68% of teens agree that cyber bullying is a serious problem.
5. 81% of young people think bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person.
6. 90% of teens who have seen social-media bullying say they have ignored it. 84% have seen others tell cyber bullies to stop.
7. Only 1 in 10 victims will inform a parent or trusted adult of their abuse.
8. Girls are about twice as likely as boys to be victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying.
9. About 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out 10 say it has happened more than once.
10. About 75% have visited a website bashing another student.
11. Bullying victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider committing suicide.  

http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying

Hacktivist

I've seen a documentary on the hacking group called 'Anonymous,' couldn't find it to post on here! I remember not being able to workout whether I was for what they were doing or against it, either way they are an interesting group who are as a result of cyberculture.

There's an article here which discusses whether Anonymous are taking things too far. http://www.channel4.com/news/anonymous-ethical-hackers-or-cyber-criminals

Cybersubcultures

I wondered if there were any subcultures which were created as a direct response to cyberculture in

'Cyberculture: The Key Concepts by David Bell' 

I found an interesting extract which explains there are two types of cybersubcultures. Firstly groups which use cyberspace and culture to their advantage such for example fan groups or campaigners, where they can use the internet to express their views and create groups.

The other type of cybersubcultures is a 'direct reponse' to cyberculture. These are groups such as hackers who engage in technology to see what they can do and use it 'outside of mainstream' contexts.

Cyberidentities

Little section from 'Cyberstalking' by Paul Bocij, this part explains how we might want to have different identities online for different reasons. I think this is similar to 'in real life' identities where our identities change depending on who we are talking to and how we want to be perceived.  

Richard Kahn and Douglas Kellner, 'Blogs, Wikis and social networking

 

 

 

 

 

This is a section from an article by Richard Kahn and Douglas Kellner titled TechnoploItics and Oppositional Media. These section that these scans are from are titled 'Blogs, Wikis and social networking.'

This section od the article about some of the positive aspects of social networking such as "...creating linkages and testimonials between friends and family members." The article dose go on to mention some of the downsides.

 

Cyberculture and Identity

This section caught my eye in the book 'Critical Cyberculture Studies' by David Silver. It states about how cyberculture can have an effect on identity. Virtually information about cultures and identity can be shared, so we now have access and opportunity to find information which could re-define or influence our identities. 

Young Americans Are the Dumbest Generation

This video is about Mark Bauerlein and his book The Dumbest Generation,

" Mark Bauerlein argues that "the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future" by turning out hyper-networked kids who can track each other's every move with ease but are largely ignorant of history, economics, culture, and other subjects he believes are prerequisites for meaningful civic participation." This was taken form the video descriptor, he puts across some interesting points, worth reading the comments for this video.

This is a link to the website for his book where there are some articles available that he has written.
http://www.dumbestgeneration.com/articles.html

Connected but Alone

Sherry Turkle explores the relationship between technology and the effect it has on our lives. She has written many articles on the topic related to cyberculture. I found this 'Connected but alone' talk interesting, I feel that she doesn't solely label technology and using mobile phones or the internet as a negative way to communicate, however that it should be used in moderation, and not be something which we are dependant upon.

I also read about Sherry Turkle's interest in 'MUD' (multi-user-domain) where people can construct an online identity which can become their 'reality'. Turkle studied the world of MUDs for her book 'Life on Screen.'  

Here's a section from the 'Wired' article below:

"What has she found? That the Internet links millions of people in new spaces that are changing the way we think and the way we form our communities. That we are moving from "a modernist culture of calculation toward a postmodernist culture of simulation." That life on the screen permits us to "project ourselves into our own dramas, dramas in which we are producer, director, and star.... Computer screens are the new location for our fantasies, both erotic and intellectual. We are using life on computer screens to become comfortable with new ways of thinking about evolution, relationships, sexuality, politics, and identity."

(http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.01/turkle.html)

Internet Anonymity

I think it's interesting how communicating through the internet can give people more confidence or act differently to what they would in the 'real world'

I found this quotation interesting in 'Cyberactivism' edited by Martha McCaughey:

'Anonymity on the internet presents itself as a double-egded sword in terms of communicative action. On one hand, it means that those perhaps too shy or otherwise inhibited will feel more confident about expressing their opinions, against someone who might be physically intimidating'

'Further to this, profession, class, accent, body language, gender, ethnicity, religiosity, physical stature, speech impediments and so on act as potential obstacles to 'real world' face to face discussion, but are not as apparent online'  

So when communicating through the internet physical factors are not taken in to account a person can create a whole new identity, which most of the time wouldn't be questioned.

Impact of Facebook Usage on Students’ Academic Achievement: Role of self-regulation and trust 

Introduction.

The paper provides a preliminary analysis of the effects of Facebook usage by

undergraduate students at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. The proposed research model

tests the perceived effect of personality traits, self-regulation, and trust on students’ achievements.

Based on flow theory, the model suggests negative mediating effects of the use and cognitive

absorption on Facebook, concluding that a decrease occurs in students’ academic performance but a

positive effect on satisfaction with life that would limit this undesirable effect.

Method.

 Paper and pencil survey was run with undergraduate students from Luleå University of

Technology and data from 239 students was used to test the model. SmartPLS software was employed to test the proposed structural equation model.

Results.

 Results indicated an extensive use of Facebook by students with extraverted personalities

leading to poor academic performance. However, students who are more self-regulated more

effectively control their presence on these platforms. Trust in people does not affect their presence

and interaction on this platform. Yet students’ cognitive absorption with Facebook is only regulated

by their self-control and their personality traits, which determines how much time they spend on

Facebook. Multitasking skills moderate the effect of cognitive absorption on academic achievement,

but they do not impede the time spent, frequency, or nature of use or their effect on academic results.

Although students’ satisfaction with life significantly declined due to cognitive immersion into

Facebook, it appeared not to play an effective role in the students’ academic achievement. However,

their performance goal orientation was shown to be a crucial determinant of their university

accomplishments, which would limit the critical effect of their presence on the Facebook platform.

Discussion and Conclusion.

Results support in part earlier conclusions about personality traits that

rule the presence on Facebook. Trust does not impede on Facebook usage as it determines surfers’ use

of Internet. Self-regulation and performance goal orientation characterized the students who are more

in control of this social activity. In turn, this prohibits the apparent negative effect on their academic

performance. Results help students to understand the preliminary consequences of their extensive

usage of Facebook and to better manage their social activities on this platform

This is an extract from a journal I found on Quest, it was published in 2011 by

Sana Rouis1, Moez Limayem 2, Esmail Salehi-Sangari 3

 

 

 

If this group gets...

Looking at websites for how to quite Facebook I found this:
http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/If-this-group-gets-1000-members-my-mom-will-quit-smoking/237088222255

I find it interesting how people make these groups to gain support, yet put a target number for group members. I recently saw one that was if the is group gets 10000 members they'll do a sky dive.
For this to happen the group created surly must relay on random people to either care about the group or just join out of interest?

Sorry i havent posted yet, there has been many problems with trying to join the group!


I thought it would be interesting to post this link up to a documentary called "Catfish"
this could really touch apon certain ideas and questions such as has cyber culture started to over influence peoples decision making in the "real world"






this is the trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq_Ha99qXdc



this is the full film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv4UBv5CaIg

How to quit Facebook

Sorry, I haven't posted for a week or so, i've been in Germany.

I've come across a few websites with tips on how to quit Facebook. This is showing that people are worrying about the amount of time they spend on social media and it's becoming more of a nasty habit rather than a website to browse.

http://www.wikihow.com/Quit-Facebook

'The World is Obsessed with Facebook'

This little infographic has some interesting facts about Facebook and how much it is used, it states (in 2011) one in every 13 people have a facebook account, that seems huge, Facebook seems to continue to grow!

Just a thought for doing Primary research we could record our own time spent on Facebook or ask others how they spend time on it etc?