Week 6

This week's lecture discussed the topic of politics, democracy and the future. We explored the origin of democracy, free speech and censorship, but what really got me was the topic on citizens hacks and the whole concept of 'anonymous'.

Anonymous was a loosely associated network of hacktivists.  They became known for their series of well publicised hacks. Originated in 2003 from the image board 4chan, Anonymous represented the concept of online and offline users who existed as a radical, digitised ‘global brain’ (Lander, C 2008).  In its early form, the concept was taken on by a online community acting ‘anonymously’ in a coordinated manner, usually toward a self-agreed goal and mainly focused on entertainment.  ‘We [Anonymous] just happen to be a group of people on the internet who need...just kind of an outlet to do as we wish, that we wouldn't be able to do in regular society. That's more or less the point of it, do as you wish. There's a common phrase: 'we are doing it for the lulz (Peacock, T 2008).'

This group really was the catalyst for this whole concept of anonymity on the internet. Whole social networks devoted to helping us hide behind our computers, like Tumblr for example; have really provided users the ultimate power: complete identity disguise. As a tumbr user, it seems to me that the whole ‘anon’ option is quite a dangerous feature to have as people are allowed to say whatever they like, consequences be damned. I’m not too sure if anonymity is exactly a good thing, you can practically get away with murder! As Hannah Furness states in her article, ‘the physical limitations of body language protect them from sharing their thoughts in real life, it no longer applies behind a screen (2013).’ Instead, a lack of empathy from the anonymity of the internet has created these ‘trolls’ that have no sense morality when issuing threats or showing ‘the worst side of human nature’. Kind of scary to think about that ANYONE can post whatever they like and have not a single regret because of this anonymous shield...although I speak with a very cynical view and shouldn’t detest all anonymous users because not all of them are trying to take over the world one troll at a time.

References:

-Peacock, T (2008). Search Engine: The Face of Anonymous.
-Landers, C (2008). Serious Business: Anonymous Takes on Scientology (and Doesn’t afraid of Anything). Baltimore City Paper, retrieved 29/08/2013.

-Furness, H (2013). Anonymity of the Internet to Blame for the Rise of Online Trolls. Retrieved 29/08/2013 at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10242703/Anonymity-of-internet-to-blame-for-rise-of-online-trolls.html

Tutorial Task:
1. This week's task was to find out what political position I have by completing the voting compass for the 2013 Australian Election. I found that I was closer to agreeing with the Liberal Party than the Greens or Labor.. which kind of surprised me because I think Tony Abbott is an idiot. I doubt I will vote for either of those party's in this upcoming election, though it did help me decide where I stand on some political issues within Australia.

2. There was also the task of signing an 'e-petition' which I do quite a lot on subjects that concern me the most. The lastest petition I signed was in regard to: "Canadian Government: Don't ruin live music with $425.00 charge per international artist per performance in Canada".  I support the local music scene in Australia or otherwise and would hate to see internationally touring artists that want to play in Canada to suffer by paying extra fees on top of touring costs and also the venues in which the play in to shut down because of the new regulation.

If you guys support local music too, feel free to sign the petition: here

3. With last week's task of creating a survey revolving around social media, I based mine around the time in which people spent on social media websites, what websites they actually used, what they used them for and whether it would impact their daily life if they chose to eliminate them. I have not yet received enough responses by this stage, but it has only been a week. The responses I did get were expected, where people either stated they use social networks to keep in contact with friends or the ease in which they could use them and could spend up to 5 hours a day on them.

Week 5

Week 5’s lecture discussed the very relevant topic of social media and web 3.0. Within the lecture, we all discussed the different forms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. and the concept of ‘churn’. It was interesting to learn about how serious churn is to social media; that the different ideas and culture around a particular website could disappear once another improved social networking platform come along… Which was very much the case for MySpace when Facebook was launched in quick success. The decline in popularity and users of MySpace was exponential once Facebook arrived and saw to the depletion of MySpace entirely. It’s only a matter of time before some of swanky new social media website comes along and overtakes Facebook. Since Facebook’s launch, other sites like Tumblr, Twitter and Instgram are becoming hugely popular and aren’t as heavy on the information sharing as Facey is, which is nice because as a tumblr user, I don’t have to provide details about when I was born or where I live or how I am feeling.

I found it pretty interesting to learn about the ownership of the content we publish online via these social media websites. I wasn’t really aware that Facebook claim they become the rightful owner of content published whereas Twitter allows the user to maintain ownership of the content they publish.  I thought this to be alarming, although I personally don’t have any real qualms about this because I barely publish content on any of my accounts. I also thought it was pretty crazy how much of an effect social media has and how much is can feed unhealthy habits among its users.  Stress and anxiety, jealousness, addiction and a false sense of identity are all very real consequences and I thought this article on social media and its effects on teenagers was really interesting. You can find it: here

We also discussed the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.  From what I understand, Web 2.0 has created a far more personal way to use the internet by introducing social media platforms and has increased the ways to find information and share content. It’s described as ‘the widely read-write web’.  In Web 1.0, ‘the mostly read only web’, its main focus was about owning content and information and people generally absorbed information, not contribute to it. Within the tutorial, we discussed the features of Web 3.0, ‘ the portable personal web’, which is focused on the individual and ‘consolidating dynamic content (digital Inspiration, 2013). 

References:
-Digital Inspiration (2004-2013). Web 3.0 Concepts Explained in Plain English.  Retrieved 25/08/2013 at http://www.labnol.org/internet/web-3-concepts-explained/8908/

Tutorial Task: It would be cool as beans if you guys could fill out my survey! You can find it: here

Week 4.

Week 4s lecture explored the topics of cyberspace, cyberpunk and cybernetics in some detail. Cyberspace began in the 1980’s in science fiction literature and was quickly adopted by computer professionals and hobbyists which became a common term a decade later. William Gibson  provides quite a detailed description of cyberspace and its function from his 1984 novel ‘Neuromancer’- ‘A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts…A graphic representation of data abstraction from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the non-space of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding.’ Explained in more simple terms, cyberspace is a way people tried to understand the internet or more specifically, ‘the sum of internet users imaginations (Stockwell, 2013).’

I found cyberspace a challenge to understand at first, but as I progressed through the tutorial and the reading,  I gained a far better grasp of its concept and how easily applicable it is to modern society.The possibilities of new communication technology surrounding the internet are endless and ever-expanding, and what cyberspace depicted decades ago about a future of consensual hallucinations via the interweb is something society is now well submerged in. Millions of people have become so enamoured with the net, that we can spend hours on it and essentially upload our entire life, our dreams, our goals, our ideas on there without even having to leave the house..and by doing all these things, we are submerging ourselves in cyberspace. Just by clicking a button, you’re unknowingly passing through cyberspace and into a consensual hallucination in the non-space of the mind...into an online reality that seems to be far more popular than the real world..

                                                       

We also learnt throughout the lecture and tutorial of cyberpunk’s existence within the 1970’s/80’s and how it was linked to cyberspace. It features advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of failure or radical change in the social order. ‘Blade Runner’ is a typical example of the cyberpunk style and theme, which we watched within the lecture.-'Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalised, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally distopian futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous data-sphere of computerised information and invasive modification of the human body (Lawrence Person).'

Although Lawrence has described a genre of film, it’s none too difficult to imagine our world turning into this...where technology gets the better of us and we are at war with the technology we created.  Cyberspace exists in this hallucination that we all partake it, in some way or another which is what makes this whole ‘fiction’ of cyberpunk so damn relatable.

Tutorial Task: This week's task was to create a timeline on the history of cyberpunk and you can find it: here

Week 3

Week 3 looked at the reading by Sue Halpern, who discusses the topic of mind control and the internet. I personally thought this article was incredibly informing and interesting on so many levels and it really did make me question things about my habits on the internet and how in the future, our minds can be linked so seamlessly to it. According to Halpern, 'it seemed like the Singularity- the long standing science fiction dream of melding man and machine to create a better species-might have arrived (Halpern, S 2011).' This article just examines how people are so painfully unaware of the finer functioning’s within the internet and how large corporations/the government are monitoring people’s online habits to then tailor advertisements to their searches/interests. Not only that, but it ventures into the probabilities of cybernetic implants within the future, where inserting 'biochips' to then be interconnected with the internet would become the norm for the broader population. 

As Jaron Lanier points out: 'We (the engineers) make up extensions to your being, like remote and ears (webcams and mobile phones) and expanded memory (the world of details you can search for online). These become the structures by which you connect to the world and other people. We tinker with your philosophy by direct manipulation of your cognitive experience. It takes only a tiny group of engineers to create technology that can shape the entire future of human experience with incredible speed.'

^That quote kind of stuck with me in particular. Kind of opened my eyes to the way things are and can be, I suppose. My happiness is determined by the speed of my internet, so I understand that technology like 'biochips' will be commercialised in the near future. People are so dependent on the internet, so what is being said within the article comes to no real surprise to me because it doesn't seem like that far of a stretch to accept that this form of new communication technology is just around the corner...that people will consume this without much argument. 

Reference: 

Halpern, S (2011). Mind Control & the Internet.  New York Review of Books, retrieved at http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jun/23/mind-control-and-internet/?page=3

Tutorial Task: This week's task was to find our lecturer's first academic article about Brisbane in a journal. I found his article by searching 'Stephen Stockwell Brisbane' through the Griffith Library database. 
Reference: Stockwell, S (2007) Alternative Media in Brisbane: 1965-1985. Queensland review, vol. 14, issue 1, pg. 75-87

Week 2.

Part 1.
a) This task asks me to find a video that shows new communication technology. This video shows a whole bunch of new technology released this year in regards to communication. Not all examples are forms of new communication technology, like the flying car but it does introduce things like Google smart-glasses which is a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display system that includes internet connection, built in cameras, facial recognition software, GPS and more. Other forms of new comm. technology featured in this video is transparent phones which are soon to be on the market, flexible technology and 3D printing.  Kind of crazy how much has developed within a 100 years, let alone what's been developed within one and I thought is was super interesting to see what's being developed right now.

b) There are so many apps for you to able to manage the internet and it's websites so easily. This app for example 'Dot Lock', gives you the ability to lock and manage your private photos and videos more easily. It protects your privacy on a higher security level that includes lots of features and allows you to upload multiple photos to either Facebook or Twitter at any given time with more security enabled. I thought it was a relevant app to have, seeming as how the internet can have a lack of security and privacy when using sites like Face book and Twitter, and now this app gives you that ability to manage locked photos or videos.

You can download it here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/hide-photo+video-dot-lock/id463142728?mt=8

Part 2.
This task asks how I use new communication technology to communicate with friends and family. I use social networking a bit to keep in contact with friends, either on my computer or phone. Sites like Facebook or Tumblr are probably the ones I use the most..I don't think i'm considered 'hip' because I don't even use them all that much.
Generally with my friends, I'll either talk to them on Facebook or call/text them. I've had a phone for about 3 or 4 years and a computer for a bit longer, but I haven;t had the social networks nearly as long...Facebook for about 2 years and Tumblr for maybe 2 months. I don't use Tumblr to communicate with people, I just like the pretty pictures. I think I got these accounts because of friends and boredom really.
Privacy is fairly important to me I suppose, I don't really post any personal details on any accounts I have with anything really, unless it's required and even then I have it on a private setting.
Do I have 'friends' whom I only know from the interwebs? I do yeah, maybe too many people but I'm not fussed with how many people I'm connected with on any accounts I have, whether it be Facebook or otherwise. I don't think it's all that different from the people I know personally, I have decent conversations with them both..it's just one's in a virtual sense and one's in a physical sense. 
Basically, I'd say I keep up with the fad of social networking but it doesn't influence my every day rountine. I still read books scarily enough and go out and actually see my friends, but it does help communicating with people a whole lot easier.

Week 1.

Week one of New Communications Technology introduced the topic of micro-computing with a reading based around Australians consumption of them within the 1970’s and 80’s.

Microcomputers, although unpopular to many, were relevant for their time.  Many people felt these 8-bit machines were useless and had no real practicality for them, especially at their price point. Philpson states that ‘many people who bought expensive and under-powered PC’s wondered what to do with them (Swalwell M, 2012, pg. 64).’ For many, these computers were the first interaction with such technology, where hobbyists embraced them. The Commodores, the TRS and System 80s were the new potentials of computing that were adopted by these hobbyists, whom took their unfailing interest in them and wrote their own software, making mostly games, to a computer that lacked a lot. Through these developments and the demand in better software, the popularity increased throughout the 80’s and people’s perspectives on micro-computing changed as it became a communication tool that users no longer needed to know every detail on.

Now decades later, computers have evolved into what sceptics of the 1980’s micro-computer, could have only dreamed about. Computers are now an essential part of people’s lives, both in the workplace and home and this article really intrigued me on how pessimistic people were about computers when I can’t go a day without using one.