Spreadable Media -Blog 6 - Wikinomiks ( A blog that was originally on my TV/Film blog)

Today with the advances in technology, people are able to collaborate in a whole new way and meaning. The new promise of peer production will harness human skill, ingenuity, and intelligence more efficiently and effectively than anything we have witnessed previously. With more and more firms being able to collaborate, it is nothing but good things as everyone can bring a certain quality to the table, for example, the building of a plane or assembling a motorbike.

With a click of a button people have the ability to share knowledge, facts, or just regular comments with everyone who wishes to read it. This is known as the digital Commons. Wikipedia for example allows people from around the world to edit and put up information onto the web, with the aim that this information is true.  As a result is has become the biggest encyclopedia in the world. 

            The evolution of the internet is driving this new age with the increase in computer power, network capability along with the new technology bringing new tools required to get organized, create value and compete. This is the new web: the Web 2.0, the living web. It has many names but either way the new web is about communities, participation and peering. Even a simple act of participating in a new community makes a contribution to the new digital commons linking more than a billion people worldwide.  

            With this change however, companies have had to adjust and realize that the pace and change that companies can no longer depend only on internal capabilities to meet external needs. Nor can they rely on tight relationships with a couple of business partners to help keep up with customers desires for speed, innovation and control. Instead companies must engage and co-create a dynamic fashion with everyone.

            How companies and societies harness knowledge is affecting just about every sector of society and every aspect of management.  This as a result is creating a new type of business thinking. Companies will now innovate, differentiate, and compete by doing certain things right: by having superior human capital: protecting their property and focusing on their customers not only globally but locally as well. This new art of science of wikinomics is based on four powerful new ideas, which are replacing some of the old trends of business.

1.      Being open – “Companies have recently been rethinking openness, and this is beginning to affect a number of important functions, including human resources, innovation, industry standards, and communications”.(p21)  People and institutions that interact with firms are gaining unprecedented access to important information about corporate behavior, operations, and performance. Armed with new tools to find out, inform others and self-organize.  This is allowing customers to see the true quality of products better along with the ability to communicate, whistle blow, googleing, and putting each company under the spot light. Other ways of being open is the ability to allow students from around the world the access and ability to educate themselves at op universities in different countries and access the courses curriculum for free.

2.      Peering – “A new form of horizontal organization is forming, which is challenging the rival hierarchical firms in its capacity to create information-based products and services, and in some cases physical things”. (p23) This new form is known as peering. Peering succeeds because it leverages self-organization. A style of production that works better than the hierarchical management for certain tasks. Its greatest impact today is the production of informational goods, software, entertainment and culture.

3.      Sharing – Today, people are easily able to download and listen, watch, share music and films with a few clicks of a button. Unfortunately if these products were free and easily made then that would be good, but as many things cost a lot of money to make, then how do these companies recoup their investment and gain a profit. Hollywood as a result has managed information and meter information to consumers which also allows the companies to control people behaviors. Many companies are however finding that treating intellectual properties like a mutual fund allows them to manage a balanced portfolio of IP assets, some protected and some shared. “Of course companies need to protect their crown jewels, but companies have to realize that they will not be able to collaborate effectively if they do not share some of their IP” (p27).

4.      Acting Globally - Today with globalization, and the integration of national economies, is allowing new titans to emerge such as China/India, and South Korea.  While developed countries are worrying about growing dependency ratios, most of the population and consumer demand will take place in the developing nations. “Staying globally competitive means monitoring business developments internationally and tapping a much larger global talent pool. Global alliances, human capital marketplaces, and peer production communities will provide access to new communities providing new access to new markets, ideas and technologies” (p29).

These four principles define how twenty first century corporations compete. “This has changed from the once hierarchical, closed, secretive; insular that dominated the previous century”. (p30) The ability to mass communicate has allowed countries to develop stringer bonds and help build a new generation of tools, thinking and technology. Who knows where everything will be in the next twenty years, but I know it will continue to grow allowing more countries to develop as a result and bring nothing but new positive advances to the world.

Spredable media - Chapter 2 ( I originally put this blog in my TV film page by accident)

Spreadable media a is a book written by Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green explaining how values and networks are made in today's networking culture. Chapter one gives an insight into the “web 2.0” and the platforms it is based upon, such as Facebook, twitter and YouTube. These platforms provide spreadable media to the entire world. Chapter 1 goes on to explain how fan bases have caused companies to rethink the way media is being spread through piracy and the values to getting information out to the general public.

 “Antiques Roadshow feeds peoples growing fascination with the process of appraisal, transforming the negotiation between different systems of value into the basis of public spectacle” (p88). The show where people bring on belongings with the idea of seeing how much they are worth, usually adding a story behind how they came to have them. Usually when the value is given to them for the object, only then will they say what they might do with it now.

( This is just a funny clip from a British comedian making fun of the Antiques Roadshow for a beer commercial)

Today everything and anything can be bought on the internet, via such sites as “eBay” and “Amazon”. “These are level playing fields with Friction-less exchanges between sellers and buyers”(p89).  The convenience of sitting in your bedroom buying clothes, food and pretty much anything is making people realize the benefits to such a simple task. This is one major reason why retail shops are being hit hard on the streets, as people would rather buy online then go out in the cold and rain for example and sit in traffic just to walk around a mall and not really see what they want. Everyday 4.8 million items are places on eBay with 40,000 categories to choose from.

Today more than ever, businesses are seeing the benefits of the internet as more companies doing business online. Businesses have to take notice more of customer’s opinions as the internet can make or break many companies’ reputations. This causes consumers to in a way become the producers. Today people will often look at reviews of a particular product before they buy it. There are many sites online that enable to general public to post their opinions about anything and this is becoming more beneficial to the customers more than ever before.

YouTube today have become one of the biggest sources of finding out information. YouTube is the one site that anyone in the world can become overnight famous off a simple uploaded video of them doing something (entrepreneurial vloggers). People are able to discuss any topics imaginable and gain thousands of followers as a result. In the introduction of this book, it explains how any video can become a massive hit simple by being put on YouTube. “goods can be shared  under a variety of  context simultaneously, and access to the item can be sold or offered as a gift without the content ever leaving ones possession”(p91) This was seen by Susan Boyle, who became a star in a matter of days after her performance on” Britain’s Got Talent”. It is now at almost 150 million views, which is a lot more the producers of B.G.T ever though and I am sure they would have done something about it had they known it would be a world hit.

"Reappraising the Residual" is the name of the chapter and the authors use residual in two senses, cultural and economic. Cultural values are developed when people come together for new discoveries of past materials such as retro thing such as games etc. Economic value is the extra monetary value of forgotten commodities such as Scooby-Doo or World Wrestling Entertainment. It has become possible for these to develop in the environment we live in today, where individuals and communities can easily spread media along with their appraisal. The book informs that Companies who are looking to spread their products should look into audiences cultural and social motivations for spreading media.

Blogging has over the past few years become an everyday thing in which more people are becoming aware of. The ability for anyone to post their opinions comments reviews and send it off into the world for the endless amount of people to read. This is seen through the internet’s ability to allow anyone to claim their fame and fortune. Sometime people forget how easily media can spread and how hard it is to be removed. So be careful what you post, lol.

 This chapter gives an insight into how the internet is being used to sell products more freely taking over the retail shops and allowing people to stay at home. One can simple review a product without buying and see reviews from other people. Business have to be aware of the benefits to doing business over the internet but also not forget that like a double edge sward, it can come back around and bite you with customers writing bad tarnishing reviews about the company. I am still trying to become a superstar on YouTube with my videos, but I am not getting too carried away, but I like the fact that so much can be done from a site such as YouTube.

Spreadable Media -Chapter 5- RUMORS( how damaging can they be)

Rumors
Taken from "Spreadable Media", by Jenkins,Ford and Green

For my Blog due, I wanted to talk about my power point on chapter 5, which I did a poor job on so I apologies to Dr. Wilson and hope this makes up for it.

In today’s society, Rumors can be seen as a double edges sword. They have the ability to spread good things about you, but also work in a negative way against you or your company. Rumors are more of a negative thing as it seems people act on rumors rather than gathering the facts. 
Patricia Ann Turner who worked with African American populations and many of her work which centered on the commercial side of products.

Companies such as “Church’s Chicken”, “Marlboro cigarettes” and clothing firm “Troop Sports” were on the receiving end of negative rumors claiming them to be owned by the KKK, a racist group in America. Such rumors inflicted serious damages on these brands. As a result Church’s was forced to sell and Troop went bankrupt.

Why did these rumors start though? Some of the accused organizations were privately owned and others were public, both of which had no racist policies what so ever. Turner claims the “accused companies were “white owned firms with advertising directed solely at black consumer in black neighborhoods” (p216). The rumors became shared feelings of frustration amongst some African Americans who were angry at the shortage of black owner businesses in their own communities. By circulating a story, community members were demonstrating their own active participating in the community by “distinguishing between friend and foe” (p217), establishing the boundaries of their community and the concerns about racism.

Historically, black Americans generated their own institutions, from the barbershop to the African American press and the black church, which enabled the formulation and exchange of the communities own perspective. Scholars have linked these institutions to the older traditions of “hush Harbors,” where slaves gathered outside for vital communication, stressing their capacity to sustain conversations within their own race.

These communities have since had more risks brought to them especially with the availability of technology. An example to book gives is the circulation of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright whose sermons to his trinity United Church of Christ Congregation to whom Barack Obama was a president, played a significant role in the 2008 presidential campaign. “ Wright’s sermons were for and presented to a predominantly but no longer exclusive black congregation as part of a tradition of fiery black critique of white institutions and practices” (P217). With the availability of modern media though it wasn’t long before Wright’s videos and comments were appearing on the internet on such sites as YouTube. From there it wasn’t long before it was picked up by broadcast networks such as Fox news, the Washington Post and the New York Times, who brought his comments more so to the public.  The book as a result claims, “What Wright’s comments might have meant in a black – only or black- dominated space is very different from what they meant when spread through these other contexts” (P218).

(A website link to an article about Church's Chicken)

 http://newsone.com/2018343/black-urban-legends-churchs-fried-chicken/

I am sure everyone can remember walking into a shop and seeing a magazine claiming that Barack Obama was a Muslim and not really born in America. These rumors have continued for many years even after his second session as president of America. For Christians, this wasn’t a good thing to hear especially those who had been so used to George W Bush’s conservative Christian values. One rumor that had gone viral was the national day or Prayer that Obama had apparently tried to cancel while he participated in an Islamic ceremony in The White House. In actual fact, Obama had welcomed and encourage d that day or prayer but opted to do it in private.

(This is a clip made to examine if Obama is a Muslim)

However you take rumors, they do have an effect culturally as well as politically when shaping how communities collectively perceive information, especially in regards to racism or religion. Often it is the material which isn’t the highest quality or have the most truth behind it that will often get picked up and strike fear into society.  Reading this chapter was very insightful and just proved how a few simple words can affect so many thing and people around the world.

Spreadable Media - Chapter 5- Nayar - CyberSEX

The sexual Internet

Today we live in an industry where "SEX" sells. With the internet freely available to millions of people around the world, it is no wonder that sex is the most frequently searched topic. In America Porn is an ever growing industry with a revenue of over $1 Billion a year. Why is it growing so much each year though? The reason can be partly down to the way it has been used by celebrities to glamorize the way they wear their clothes, how they poise, what they look like, what they say, and who there with. Today a celebrity will more likely be remembered for how she looks and acts rather than their original reason for becoming famous in the first place. For example, Miley Cyrus is a famous celebrity who has been around for many years in America with her television shows, however, she is now a singer and most of her videos are very sexual along with other things, which as a result have made her very popular today. 

                Porn has always been seen as degrading, (towards women) and dehumanizing, especially when showing a male inflicting harm to the female. However, erotica is seen as a respected form of art dating back to ancient times which has always been seen as consensual sex without the degrading of people.

                The “sexual internet” as they put it in the book isn’t simple about cyber sex. There are many forms of sexually related activities one can get up to whilst browsing the internet. People are able to purchase online products, watch videos, sex therapists, swingers meeting, relationships or even educational information. With these options the internet allows humans to facilitate forms of sexual role playing. “Over time emotional attachment, arousal, and psychological pleasure can often lead to visits to virtual sex shops rounding off the online sexual experience.”(Nayar, p125)

                There are many forms of online relationships known as cyber affairs. These include forms such as:

1.       Those that are exclusively in cyberspace, with people who will never meet.

2.       Those that start online, but wish to take it offline as well.

3.       Those who meet online but soon take it to real life environments.

         Cyber sex is seen as a new form of social and human interaction facilitated by digital technology. Today sexual based texts are sent which contain fantasies which can often end with masturbation. Video based cyber sex is very popular in the way. Viewers will remove clothing for others online that may do the same and take part in sexual activities for the person/s watching to watch. The cyber sex experience is based on the anonymity via cyberspace. Research shows the people are more comfortable at doing these things online as the freedom from sexual diseases with the ability to not be committed to anything, hence the ability to indulge fantasies and experiences because of the anonymity. People can simple turn off their computer and walk away and that will be the end of it.

        The internet does however, allow people in cultures where homosexuality, promiscuity, fetishes to provide reasonably affordable avenue for individuals who wish to remain anonymous. Although men appear to seek more sexual based programs online, women did use the internet to seek out male partners in sexual relationships.

The game “second Life” is mentioned a lot in this chapter as people are using this game to chat whilst also do sexual things with other people online with their virtual characters. There are many games like this out there that allow people to take part in online fantasies whilst also remain anonymous. 

There have been different mixed responses from feminists in regards to cyber sex. One type see cyber sex at liberating for women. The idea that women who might have been rejected or felt ugly in real life can become whoever they want to be in this other world. Another big factor is the fact these women can have control over their body, their desires and control what they do and with whom. The second response sees cyber sex as intimidating and exploitative, as the realm of male, heterosexist ad male presence on the net suggests a gendered structuration of online sexuality itself. (Doring, 200)

        After reading this chapter I can see that it was more based towards women. I feel that cyber sex has many positives and negatives to it. The illusions that are created, such as perfect bodies, along with non-messy sexual encounters bring in the user. The fact that impersonal intimacy is a high priority amongst users allows people to feel more relaxed about their actions. I have never participated in any of these online forums, but I can see what draws people in and how it can become additive.

Chapter 13- Anxiety

                As I sit listening to the teacher talking to the class, it doesn't take me long to see people quickly checking their electronic devices to see if there are any new messages that might be important. Of course, I have never seen anyone jump up from their seats and run out of the class, so I feel people feel the need to constantly check their devices so they aren't missing out on anything.

                Turkle explains in chapter 13 how people today feel that they must be able to get online to their Facebook, Twitter, email accounts otherwise they feel they are missing out on what could be important information. People see not having their phones with them at all time as a major stress level.  Technology is seen as a way of managing life’s stresses but at the same time can create anxieties of their own. The two are often linked. Turkle feels that many sacrifices are made in order to multi task between electronic devices and your work, “People would rather sacrifice quality in order to multi task” (Turkle p242).

                An example giving in the book is how Julia gradually lost contact with her dad over many years as neither wanted to be the first to contact the other as they had fallen out over a silly argument. Julia has to eventually contact her farther in order to get a signature for a school field trip, which as a result allows them to start contacting each other again. She explains how her farther adds an email address so they can start speaking via email. Julia is happy with this as she doesn’t feel comfortable enough to talk to her farther on the phone. Julia does explain how she knows her farther has a Myspace account, and that she doesn’t want to accept him or look at his wall. At the same time she doesn’t want him checking out her wall and profile. She explains how she is not ready to see what her farther has been up to, if he has a new wife, kids etc.  She feels that over time she will talk to him and then eventually meet him again.

                Julia explains that she feels being disconnected from her phone can cause anxiety. “If I get an text message, I will excuse myself from class just to go check it” (Turkle p244) Julia explains how while checking the text message, it will be from a friend simple saying “Hey” so as a result she feels silly for leaving class, but at the same time, feels she must check the text in case it’s an emergency from her friend or family. Julia recalls when 9/11 happened and every student in her school was taking to the basement. As she didn’t have a phone, she was scared and wanted to check on her family in case anything was wrong. Some of her school friends had flights that day or worked at the twin towers so were scared and worried for them.

                As a result from 9/11, more and more children were given cell phones in case of emergencies. Although parents give the children them in case of emergencies, the schools are trying to crack down on the use of phones whilst at school as they feel they are a big distraction to the children learning. Turkle explains that parents today are called Helicopter parents. They feel that their own parents were quick to push them out into the world and give them their own independence, which they do not want their children to have. They want their own children to not have to rush out into the real world.

                Another example Turkle uses is Hannah, who enjoys going on chat websites and speaking to either friends or random people around the world. Hannah has met a guy from England who she has been talking to for many years. They will often play games online or just generally talk for hours. She liked the fact that neither one knows what the other person looks like, so in a way they can just imagine. She does want to eventually meet him she says, but for now she is happy to just keep on talking to him. Hannah says that there are many down sides to talking to people online. “People can be vicious” (Turkle p247), I have been on chats with my friends and they will start saying nasty things to random people or even people they know. She explains that there are many cruel people out there, but at the same time there are many nice people just wanting to chat to someone.

                Today people spend hours searching pictures of friends and random’s, just seeing what their up to and what comments they have posted. It doesn’t take long to find out what that persons been up to and what pictures they have posted. The media today portrays young people as no longer caring about their privacy as everything is easily available with a few clicks of a button.  The word “facebook stalking or creeping” have as a result become a term now that doesn’t really mean what it does on the serious end. It as a result has made the serious side of talking more watered down in the public’s eye.

                Turkle feels that only now are people becoming aware of what they put on the internet can often land them in trouble in the future, whether it be a job searching your name or even parents seeing what pictures you have posted online. They are no longer able to just delete information so easily. If one person puts a comment or picture online, that picture could be copied and pasted somewhere else so easily are other people. Secrets will no longer be kept secret as the “internet is a permanent record”(Turkle p 462). People should not be afraid to post things online, but they should think about how those things they post could affect things in the future.

                I enjoyed reading this chapter, I often feel anxiety to check my email and Facebook whenever I am near a computer and I think that’s the generation we have become as a result of all this technology.

                

Alone together chapter 12 - Confessions

 Everybody has secrets. Secrets. do not however always remain secret as the person/people who hold them, often feel a desire, a niggling inside them that they can not hold in and so it spills out to anyone that picks away at your defenses.  I have often been told something that I have to admit, I couldn't keep a secret, somethings are often so juicy that they cannot be held in for long. If I myself have ever had a secret, I have often felt the need to just tell someone, anyone, just because it is eating away at my insides and I just need to get it out of my mouth, just for someone to listen to and maybe give feedback.

     Today on the world wide web, there are many websites such as "post secrets", where millions of people are able to go and post anonymously there deepest and darkest secrets without the possibility of anyone finding out who wrote it. Post secrets allows people to go to a place where people can tell other people online what they are thinking/doing/done, and in a way asking for feedback. It is a place where people want to go to see that they are not strange  and what they have done is not completely out of the ordinary and is accepted and has been done by others out there.

     Why do people do this though? go on the internet to expose their little dark secrets that they do not want to share face to face with others. The internet has a magical way of allowing people to feel connected with other users out in the world. It has the ability to make you feel loved or hated, by what you write and say. Turkle explains that "people's differences are not so different from others on the web". It is also a way of venting their frustration about their day to day lives and instead of screaming at their boss they despise, they can simple vent their fury on the web and walk away relaxed and still in a job.

     Turkle give many examples of how these confessions talking sites have also been a way of people who are depressed with life just need someone to talk or just listen to. Someone who doesn't have any close friends or want to talk anyone close as they might feel judged will see talking to a complete stranger as a way of not being judged, being graded. "when we make ourselves vulnerable, we expect to be nurtured" Turkle p235.

     Another downside to this is that often when we are at our most vulnerable, pouring our hearts out to complete strangers, we are open to being attacked with abuse and hatred which as a result can often make the already upset person in more miserable. Today, there int many celebrities that aren't often hated upon either on twitter, you tube etc. It is now becoming more common for your everyday average Joe who likes to post comments , videos or articles online."anonymity does not protect us from emotional investment"

     Of course, what people have to realize when reading these confessions is that they might not be 100% true and in many ways exaggerated. I am not sure if this is a phrase said in America, but in England, we would say in a situation like this "take it with a pinch of salt". Whether these stories are true or not, they do make the readers feel excepted, which is what people want. To be excepted.

     To conclude, there are many positives and negatives to online confessions sites. I can see why people feel the need to express confessions or secrets to unknown individuals as a way of revealing stress or that niggling itch that is wanting to be scratched at so much. Turkle uses many examples to explain how many people see it as a way of expressing their feeling without being caught or judged. I have not every really checked into any of these sites, but after reading this chapter I can see how attractive sites are where you can tell the world your secrets.

Alone together -chap 10

Chapter 10 – Alone together

I remember when I was back in England and I broke my phone. It was one of the most stressful days, not because I was expecting an important call or needed desperately to get in contact with people, but because I felt I was disconnected from everyone I knew and that I might miss out on potentially something important.  Since coming to America, I have not needed a phone as I can easily get in contact with everyone via Facebook and emails. This however, has made me very reliant on these sources of communication. I have grown accustomed to checking my FB every time I am now on a computer, just to see if anyone has messaged me, as I feel I might miss out on something important, which is very rare.

Today Turkle explains how people tend to rely so much on their cell phones due to the amount of easily accessible sources and information at a click of a button. With a couple of clicks of a button you can check texts, email, facebook, twitter etc.  I am pretty sure if all phones were turned off for the day the world would turn into an ugly scene as people have become so reliant of them.

Gone are the days of contently using your cell phone to call everyone, today, Turkle sees people as texting more than ever as a text can be well prepared and though about instead of spontaneously saying words without much though being given. “At a screen you feel protected and less burdened by expectation. A phone call can be seen as fearsome because it can reveal too much” (Alone together p188). The only people that people tend to call nowadays are close friends and relatives as people will want to keep up to date with these people and actually give time to speak to these people. Other than that very rarely will people contact their friends via calling unless it’s important. Texting and emailing is the way forward. You can start a conversation with a simple work like “what’s up” and if the convo is going nowhere or somewhere you don’t want it to go as in a potential argument, then you can simple just say “got to go or goodbye”.

Today with the amount of ways to communicate to people around the world, more and more people are creating their own online versions of themselves called Avatars. These are your online versions of yourself, but you have the ability to create this avatar to how you want it to come across. People often put things such as pictures on their facebook page showing the world how they want to appear. People will usually only upload good pictures of themselves, and can also crop and Photoshop images to make them look and appear better. This is related to texting as you don’t have to think of things on the spot and can often take time to respond to people but at the same time be to the point rather than dragging out a long conversation. In “Alone together”, Turkle uses examples to explain how people will create an avatar to talk to people across the world and be someone away from their real lives, such as more sexy and confident compared to the shy, less attractive person sat at the computer. For me personally, and I think males in generally don’t care too much about their appearances on such things compared to women, but I have never really got into creating an avatar that is someone else from what I am.

What can be the downsides to all of this? Turkle explains how people can become annoyed at a person not responding quick enough to a message that has been sent to them. This can be seen on Facebook and iPhone’s where it will often say message read at so and so time. People and myself included have actually got angry and wondered why that person has read a message and not bothered to respond, even though in a reality, the reason could be something like they are busy, at work, or are multi-tasking too many things and just simple forgot to reply. Another problem that can occur is the “spillover effect”, which is when a person who might have a character online in such games as “world of War craft” might become a lot more confident and change the character of their normal in the real world selves. For example, if a group of friends were online playing a game with certain characters, a boy who might be skinny and shy in the real world, might start talking as though he is a big strong man. This could cause his friends to make fun of him and in turn cause friction in real life. A way to avoid this can be just what happens online, stays online.

Because a lot of these technologies that are current today have only really been around in the last 10-15 years, a lot of the older generation are often left behind and despondent to the way things have changed. So long are the long talks on the phone. Instead of standing and talking to friends at school, it will simple be a case of “ill speak to you later online”.  People can hide away from their real live stresses and become a completely different person online, virtually shopping and meeting other avatar characters.

I often enjoy not having a phone as I often am sat in a room with friends and all with be on their devices and not making much conversation. Of course there are many benefits, but we must try not to lose simple skills such as communicating.

Role of Digital Culture

My name is Paul Dudson and I am a Digital Film and Visual Communication major at Reinhardt University. When I was asked to choose what degree I wanted to do, I was a little bit hesitant as there were so many options and I knew I had to make a correct decision otherwise I would be stuck in class's studying a topic for the next two years I wouldn't enjoy. I finally came across the degree I am talking now and I have not regretted taking it ever since.

The world we live in today is constantly evolving and changing (Information Society), and as a result more people have to adapt to these changes or face being left behind. With advance in technology in the computer world, many people are becoming more involved in social networks, such as online chats, video games and online social forums, which are called CYBER CULTURE.

Fun fact - although the USA makes up 5.1 % of the world pop, it uses had 69% internet penetration

Many people use these online cultures to often create an AVATAR (graphic online identity). These Avatar characters can be designed to be played in a particular game or even used to communicate to people across the world. I personally have never really designed an Avatar to communicate to people around the world, but I have spent time design my soldier in Call of Duty, so that he can be and look like I want him to.

In the Gaming / virtual world, software functioning has allowed players to use their own set of rules and narrative conventions, such as building civilizations or take down an enemy unit. These games are allowing people to become whoever they want to be and do what they like to other players on the gaming world. Sims for example will allow you to create people and control their every action. The same applies to Grand Theft Auto, which usually ends with people being shot, blown up or run over. Many people have argued that these games can have the effect to possible harm young people’s minds and have often been blamed for many of today’s shootings involving young gun men in America. 

Criticisms of online chat rooms, societies and is the dangers of misuse of these by pedophiles and rapists who search the net for victims. It is easy for potential pedophiles to claim to be someone else and befriend young males and females. 

Another problem is that potential jobs can research you and find out many things about you, which they might not like the look of and that as a result may cost you that job. Many people have done and will continue to do silly things on the internet. At the time you don’t seem to realize the possible effect that it can have on you, but you never know how many people can see what you are doing. However safe you think your information is online, there are ways that pictures, videos can be leaked and viewed by people you don’t know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT1GvPQG904

Today the internet is being used by many film/gaming and advertising companies to seek out ideas and opinions from the general public about what is wanted/needed/or needing to be improved. This is called Interactivity. The role the audience’s, listeners and viewers become more involved closely with the structure, format and story, via opinion polls, opinions. Companies are doing this to help speed up what is wanted by society and also at a much cheaper cost.

Social Networking sites have become a global powerhouse where billions of people are able to communicate to one another via sites such as Face Book, Twitter etc. For the youth, such sites have become a mode of self-representation for them. To display pictures, and post comments about how they are feeling to topics which can cause much debate. 

 Advertisers have used these types’ sites to advertise their products to the public such as album, protein shakes to even shoes. I took notice of this the other day when I was searching for a pair of Adidas shoes that I wanted. When I had finished looking at the shoes, I closed down the site and went and logged on Facebook to only see the exact same pair in my advertisement section.

Many forms of media are converging many forms of media in the digital age to create one piece of software. This is called Digitextuality, where print, audio, video and graphics can be simultaneously accessed and processed through one common software application. Ex. I pads/I Pods that function as music players, radios, emails, movie devices and sometimes phones.

Pros and Cons of the digital Age

Pro
1. Far easier to send and Receive Information
2. Easier to search for information
3. Can communicate with people around the world
4. Able to multitask a lot more easily
5. Our lives can become more easy to run

Con
1. Because people are multi tasking more, they are not focussing as much attention as needed
2. Peoples attention span is reduced and lose long term focus
3. people spend more time on electronics which can result in obesity
4. With the current ease of gathering information. Retaining that information in our minds can decline.
5. People rely on this technology too much.

I personally feel that the advances in technology can be a positive thing if used wisely and not constantly relied on.  People can spend many hours on devices which can result in bad health, whilst also making that person more lazy.

I am personally a pretty poor writer, and I am often getting correct on my spelling by my teachers and computers. Technology on phones and computers for example have setting's which allow you to be corrected on your spelling, and not send a horrible email or text. This can be seen as a positive, but at the same time, many people like myself will just click a button and the word will be spelt correctly. This will not teach me as well where I went wrong with my spelling as I have not learned from my mistakes.