Despite the fight against piracy, many people still indulge in the very disheartening acts. This has been seen as a benefit for many users but a disadvantage for creators. It has been determined by the government that downloading content that should be paid for, although, it's not illegal but those who upload the content are to be blamed because they are indulging it piracy, putting up what other people have worked for.
However, Matt Mason, author of "The pirate of Dilemma" refers a pirate as a person who copies other people's contents and puts it up on the web for the public consumption, they are the smartest thinker. pirates are not only submitting contents online for the benefit of those who can not afford to purchase a Cd, they are also pirating medications, electronics e.t.c. That's why people no longer worry if they can't get the original version of the product, simply because they know they can always go for the pirated copy.
Matt mason believes piracy is not a bad idea because, it's an advantage on the part of those who can not afford a Cd. It is clear that piracy has made thorns of unlimited content a possibility which has helped the society.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Competing Myths of the Web 2.0 Brand
The marketing ideology and myths of web by Trebor Scholz are divided into eight parts. The first part which is the shifting of web 2.0. H e talked about how web 2.0 came into existence. Tim Reilly distinguished between the web 1.0 and 2.0 by associating it with the "new participatory architectures of the web.
The second part which is the new newness of technologies, he also talks about how the web has been in existence but knowing that newness sells the technological world hence the introduction of the web 2.0. The third part which is the wikis and user-submitted content, talks about how Ward Cunningham developed wiki-wiki web. This has in turn increased the social life online and the user interface is more user friendly. The rest of the article talks more about the social networking sites, RSS, CSS and blogging. RSS helps you to subscribe to web pages and receive updates, CSS which is the cascading style sheets were developed as a means for creating a consistent approach to providing information for web documents.
However, the article goes on to talk about pod-casting and folksonomies. Folksonomies is a method of collaboratively creating and managing keywords to anotate and categorize content. The penultimate and final part of the article is the web 2.0 ideology, the power of naming, and the imagination of the future of the web. These goes to talk about and the future of the technological market.
The second part which is the new newness of technologies, he also talks about how the web has been in existence but knowing that newness sells the technological world hence the introduction of the web 2.0. The third part which is the wikis and user-submitted content, talks about how Ward Cunningham developed wiki-wiki web. This has in turn increased the social life online and the user interface is more user friendly. The rest of the article talks more about the social networking sites, RSS, CSS and blogging. RSS helps you to subscribe to web pages and receive updates, CSS which is the cascading style sheets were developed as a means for creating a consistent approach to providing information for web documents.
However, the article goes on to talk about pod-casting and folksonomies. Folksonomies is a method of collaboratively creating and managing keywords to anotate and categorize content. The penultimate and final part of the article is the web 2.0 ideology, the power of naming, and the imagination of the future of the web. These goes to talk about and the future of the technological market.
The Death of the Web or Open Source Future?
The web is dead. The websites are alive. Torrents, Podcasts, Facebook, etcetera are alive. Will you search THE website or A website? The subtle difference is the intention; Getting means having an objective. Exploring (Searching) means freedom. Getting can be controlled, can be induced, can be conditioned to yourself. The extasis of finding without really looking for it; Searching what you don’t know yet, the fulfilling pleasure of sailing the Web is long lost. StumbleUpon.com is profiting from this death.
The transferred bits, has nothing to do with the Web, except for the technological sense; The web is the free space, existing inside the internet protocols. Everyone can be part of the Web. Everyone can open notepad, code as he will, and open up the services in his own computer, but there’s no Web (There IS the Web, but it’s dead. ¿You got the point?).
That web site exist, and its part of the web, but the web is dead in the sense that nobody is IN the web anymore. There’s no sailer in the ocean of the Web, but surfers in the seas of blogs, social networks; the sea of the gadget. Your notepad site exists in a death ocean. The new boats, the new spaces are those hard-coded, hard-limited not in a technological sense; Facebook, Twitter, Ipad, RSS’s, Etcetera. “You’ve spent the day on the Internet — but not on the Web”. New spaces are grown; Social media networks, Music networks, Facebook, Blogs, Apps, Gadgets, but the web as some knew it, is dead. It doesn’t implies the new spaces are worse.
“It makes no sense to put the Web in the fight against particular apps.” ¿Who’s putting the Web in the fight against particular apps? Let that fight for the capitalists; Without them and their struggles, there would be no change nor progress in a technological sense “And contrary to the post in which it says that Apple and Google are killing it. In reality, they are building it.”
Apple and Google are building OVER it, thus killing it. The Web will always exist, buried under Apple’s and Google’s backyard. I understand your point, but the whole point of the article isn’t contradicted by your argument. It’s not about the internet, it’s not about the control of the technology, but with the Web itself.
The transferred bits, has nothing to do with the Web, except for the technological sense; The web is the free space, existing inside the internet protocols. Everyone can be part of the Web. Everyone can open notepad, code as he will, and open up the services in his own computer, but there’s no Web (There IS the Web, but it’s dead. ¿You got the point?).
That web site exist, and its part of the web, but the web is dead in the sense that nobody is IN the web anymore. There’s no sailer in the ocean of the Web, but surfers in the seas of blogs, social networks; the sea of the gadget. Your notepad site exists in a death ocean. The new boats, the new spaces are those hard-coded, hard-limited not in a technological sense; Facebook, Twitter, Ipad, RSS’s, Etcetera. “You’ve spent the day on the Internet — but not on the Web”. New spaces are grown; Social media networks, Music networks, Facebook, Blogs, Apps, Gadgets, but the web as some knew it, is dead. It doesn’t implies the new spaces are worse.
“It makes no sense to put the Web in the fight against particular apps.” ¿Who’s putting the Web in the fight against particular apps? Let that fight for the capitalists; Without them and their struggles, there would be no change nor progress in a technological sense “And contrary to the post in which it says that Apple and Google are killing it. In reality, they are building it.”
Apple and Google are building OVER it, thus killing it. The Web will always exist, buried under Apple’s and Google’s backyard. I understand your point, but the whole point of the article isn’t contradicted by your argument. It’s not about the internet, it’s not about the control of the technology, but with the Web itself.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Changing Notions of Labour: From Participation to Exploitation
LOSER GENERATED CONTENT: From Participation to Exploitation
Given that everything that has an advantage almost always has a corresponding disadvantage, this article written by Søren Mørk Petersen focused on examining the pros and cons of the internet. A random photo which was taken by a camera phone was used as an example to illustrate this and it indeed was amazing, just how much significance a single photo could have. People’s creative potential is triggered by technological platforms, and this enables them to take part in the designing of software and share their own content.
- Web 2.0 is a software with web applications that allows participatory information sharing, user design and collaboration using the world-wide web. This site allows interaction between users in a social media dialogue unlike other websites where users are limited to passive viewing of contents that was created for them. Examples of the Web 2.0 sites are social networking sites, blogs, Usenet (user-generated content).
- These sites have great advantages in the sense that lots of informations can be gained and shared between parties. This advantage could also be a disadvantage because it could lead to the use of other people's ideas without giving them credit; since there is the absence of infringement and copyright rules on most of these open websites.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Search 2.0: Privacy Undone, Surveillance Reconsidered
The peep culture depicts what's going on in our society now most especially Facebook and twitter. Many people want to be noticed, people crave for attention. Surveillance is associated with spying and privacy innovations.
However, by providing information, photos, videos, etc., many users (on social networking sites especially) reveal an exhibitionist attitude. Many users take pleasure in having their profiles looked at. Why else would so many people continue to update their profiles, if not for the purpose of keeping others interested? Take, for example, the update of one's profile picture on Facebook. For some users, this update is a constant ordeal. I find that the main reason people change their profile picture so often is to get attention. Once other people have stopped commenting or "liking" the picture, it must be time for a change, so as to get attention on their wall for the new photo (really weired).Social networking is a great way of getting connected with family and friends but still face the privacy issue.
EXHIBITIONISM
This refers to the love of people being looked at by others on the web. On social networking sites (most especially facebook), people post photos together with so much informations with the purpose of being seen by others. I believe this sets of individuals loves being looked at by others, sometimes i say to myself that "There is more to life than facebook". Many people want to be part of social community.
In other words, if people do not post too much of their informations online for the whole world to see, there would be nothing to spy on.
However, by providing information, photos, videos, etc., many users (on social networking sites especially) reveal an exhibitionist attitude. Many users take pleasure in having their profiles looked at. Why else would so many people continue to update their profiles, if not for the purpose of keeping others interested? Take, for example, the update of one's profile picture on Facebook. For some users, this update is a constant ordeal. I find that the main reason people change their profile picture so often is to get attention. Once other people have stopped commenting or "liking" the picture, it must be time for a change, so as to get attention on their wall for the new photo (really weired).Social networking is a great way of getting connected with family and friends but still face the privacy issue.
EXHIBITIONISM
This refers to the love of people being looked at by others on the web. On social networking sites (most especially facebook), people post photos together with so much informations with the purpose of being seen by others. I believe this sets of individuals loves being looked at by others, sometimes i say to myself that "There is more to life than facebook". Many people want to be part of social community.
In other words, if people do not post too much of their informations online for the whole world to see, there would be nothing to spy on.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
WEB 2.O
The online Webopedia describes Web 2.0 has the term used to describe the current generation of the World Wide Web. Web 2.0 primarily focuses on the ability for users from all over the world to collaboratively and interactively share information online. Web 2.0 moves the online community away from the utilization of static, basic HTML pages and encourages the use of modern community driven web applications such as blogs, forums and wikis to provide users with the information they wish to consume or create. Simply put, Web 2.0 is the introduction of an interactive and dynamic element into the once stagnant HTML only web pages with a strong reliance on human collaboration for the creation of Social Media to be consumed by other humans.
Web 2.0 allows the user to provide user created or enhanced content for others people to use. Popular encyclopedia website Wikipedia is a prime example of this; once an article is created, anyone from around the world with knowledge of the topics discussed within the article is free to edit the article. Popular Social Networking website Twitter is another example of Web 2.0’s community driven information process. Various users can share or “tweet” all forms of information with each other that can potentially be helpful to other users online. Web 2.0 has created a new form of communication, making those who utilize information not only consumers, but potential creators as well.
Although Web 2.0 is often seen as a buzzword, there is clear indication that the way we use the internet has evolved over time. Users now have more freedom to create and collaborate on websites to bring about more diverse and useful content.
Web 2.0 allows the user to provide user created or enhanced content for others people to use. Popular encyclopedia website Wikipedia is a prime example of this; once an article is created, anyone from around the world with knowledge of the topics discussed within the article is free to edit the article. Popular Social Networking website Twitter is another example of Web 2.0’s community driven information process. Various users can share or “tweet” all forms of information with each other that can potentially be helpful to other users online. Web 2.0 has created a new form of communication, making those who utilize information not only consumers, but potential creators as well.
Although Web 2.0 is often seen as a buzzword, there is clear indication that the way we use the internet has evolved over time. Users now have more freedom to create and collaborate on websites to bring about more diverse and useful content.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Technological Determinism, Social Construction/Shaping of Technology
Internet,a global network connecting millions of computers. The internet has it's advantages and disadvantages. Some people believe the internet is the most dangerous weapon ever created because it is a place where all identities can be stolen, homes are invaded, a place for mankind to exercise it's darkest desires,an open market where you can purchase anything you want. The internet is taking us to a place where everything we do is watched,monitored and processed without our consent.
Whereas, there are people who believe that the internet is a good thing, the most education tool the world has ever known, the only place freedom of speech exists. Shortly after the internet became popular in the states, two movies films were released (you've got mail or The net) which serve as cultural referent for understanding online romance and theft (pg23). According to (Sturken & Thomas,2004) there was an urban legend about "sympathetic needles" which allowed people to communicate across distance in the sixteenth century.
We all use the internet for different purposes such as : business and a wide range of people use it for social networking sites ( facebook,twitter,myspace e.t.c). we all love the internet even though it's the most dangerous weapon ever created.
The Intersections of Technology and Myth
Well, i don't seem to understand the message the author is trying get across to the readers in this chapter. This chapter really got on my nerves although it was informative. It seems really weird that this same common medium would solve the world's problem if only the people who invented it would connect the world."People do use the internet to create false identity" oh yes, absolutely many people all over the world create fake identities online for relationships,fraud e.t.c Most people on social network don't put their real pictures up just because they enjoy online fraud. "without the communication technologies we have now, we could not sustain the social and dispersed social and professional networks which many people take for granted". whereas we stay connected with people for longer and across greater distances. In 1914,William Gibson published Neuromancer, a futuristic computer-oriented science fiction novel in which he developed his neologism "cyberspace". I would say technology has contributed a lot in our world today.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Remix Culture
Lawrence Lessig's Remix discusses the ease at which internet users now a days can manipulate or "remix" other articles or videos they see on the internet. Thanks to the ease of use the internet and Web 2.0 provides, people can simply download a song and had their own special twist to it, consumers can download a video and edit it to their pleasing. For all intents and purposes, the consumer wields as much power as the original creator of the intellectual property. The use of Web 2.0 and instant availability of information to consumers has created a new mind set when browsing. People feel that any content on the internet is free and they can manipulate it as much as they wish. Lessigs "Remix" tells the story of a woman named Stephanie Lenz, who by chance uploaded a video of her infant child dancing to a song by popular artist Prince to YouTube. Lenz was subsequently sued by Universal Music Group for using their intellectual properties without UMG's consent.
The widespread availability of tools to casual consumers has created a remix culture on the internet. People now have the power to virtually change anything they wish, whether it be a Wikipedia article or a video involving a dancing baby set to the music of Prince.
The protection of Intellectual properties is very important for the IP owners, take for example celebrity photographer and filmmaker David LaChapelle, who recently sued pop artist Rihanna for using his concept art and imagery in her video for her single "S&M". LaChapelle states that Rihanna's video mimics the "composition, total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colors, props, setting, decors, wardrobe and lighting" of specific photographs he has produced over the course of his career.
Musicians should strive to create their own unique concepts for videos or at least give proper rights to those they may take inspirational cues from. French alternative rock group Phoenix creates their own unique video for hit single Lisztomania, while also paying proper tribute to those that inspired their video. The video locations are great and the camera work is beautifully done.
As the role of the internet becomes bigger and more integrated into everyday life, consumers have developed a complex where by they feel entitled to any content online. Consumers feel they can freely utilize or edit any content on the internet, regardless of the original owners intent. In some cases, this proves to be a great use of the internet, but in other cases, this Remix Culture can be seen as no more than copyright infriengment
The widespread availability of tools to casual consumers has created a remix culture on the internet. People now have the power to virtually change anything they wish, whether it be a Wikipedia article or a video involving a dancing baby set to the music of Prince.
The protection of Intellectual properties is very important for the IP owners, take for example celebrity photographer and filmmaker David LaChapelle, who recently sued pop artist Rihanna for using his concept art and imagery in her video for her single "S&M". LaChapelle states that Rihanna's video mimics the "composition, total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colors, props, setting, decors, wardrobe and lighting" of specific photographs he has produced over the course of his career.
Musicians should strive to create their own unique concepts for videos or at least give proper rights to those they may take inspirational cues from. French alternative rock group Phoenix creates their own unique video for hit single Lisztomania, while also paying proper tribute to those that inspired their video. The video locations are great and the camera work is beautifully done.
As the role of the internet becomes bigger and more integrated into everyday life, consumers have developed a complex where by they feel entitled to any content online. Consumers feel they can freely utilize or edit any content on the internet, regardless of the original owners intent. In some cases, this proves to be a great use of the internet, but in other cases, this Remix Culture can be seen as no more than copyright infriengment
Deeper meaning in Music: Phoenix - Lisztomania
Lizstomania, performed by Grammy winning French alternative rock band Phoenix from their 4th studio album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is a song that I have a deep connection with and greatly inspires.
Phoenix crafts a beautiful song with sharp fast paced melodies accompanied by lead singer Thomas Mars' soothing voice. Lizstomania is a song that deals the hardships of creating the perfect song. Mars sings about the trials he must face as he tries to maintain his integrity as an artist but at the same time, create a melodic pop song that will appeal to mainstream audiences. On the surface, Lizstomania is a typical happy, care free pop song; catchy, radio friendly and easily digestible for mainstream music consumers but deeper investigation into the lyrics reveals Thomas Mars' struggle to create music that will not just appeal to the mainstream, but appeal to his integrity as an artist. Phoenix blends catchy, perfectly balanced hooks with sharp song writing to create a song that appeals to mainstream audiences but not at the cost bands artistic integrity.
Further reading
Pitchfork Review of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
New Media; New boundaries
As the internet continues to grow and expand, humans have become more reliant on the web to provide them with news, information and entertainment. We utilize web services such as blogs, and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to consume information. The use of mobile telephones to consume such information as made it personalization of information easier and more mainstream.
Thanks to the internet, there has been a very noticeable paradigm shift in the way information is presented, created and consumed. Overall it represents a good change for the media; change that means we should pay greater attention to our shared online spaces. The use of Web 2.0 has created a virtual free for all; information is easily available to our finger tips. Although the availability of information is great for human development as a whole, it creates a fundamental segregation among people. Thanks to the availability of technology, we instinctively forgo natural human interaction and instead opt to communicate through technology. Any over reliance on technology as a means of human communication is potentially detrimental to human development. Kids might lose valuable social skills they should be learning.
The availably of information makes it harder to actually "learn" a skill. One can simply download a program and create a blog from scratch with little or no skills in HTML whatsoever. Although the digital age is a great benefit to man kind, giving us information that was previously unavailable, it is also detrimental to our development and can be obsessive or distracting.
The book Personal Connections in the Digital Age, author Mckenna,Green believes "long-distance romances are built and maintained through electronic contact"(pg3) I agree with Greens statement because applications such as Skype and other video calling services have helped long distance relationships to be maintained . Thanks to this technology, it is been possible for individuals to interact with one another even though they are far from one another. An article written by Matt Richtel shows technology's detrimental effects on humans. The article describes the story of a young boy who prefers to spend his time chatting on Facebook and watching videos on YouTube rather than do his summer homework.
The abuse of technology is the biggest issue in our society because its making people lazy and ineffective. I recently watched a video of a woman who fell into the fountain at her local mall while texting; although I initially laughed at the lady's ordeal, I realized that her obsession with technology was so great that she become engrossed in a relationship she had formed and maintained through technology. The same technology that she so highly relied on for communication also lead to her embarrassment. Metaphorically speaking, her over reliance on technology lead to her downfall.
Thanks to the internet, there has been a very noticeable paradigm shift in the way information is presented, created and consumed. Overall it represents a good change for the media; change that means we should pay greater attention to our shared online spaces. The use of Web 2.0 has created a virtual free for all; information is easily available to our finger tips. Although the availability of information is great for human development as a whole, it creates a fundamental segregation among people. Thanks to the availability of technology, we instinctively forgo natural human interaction and instead opt to communicate through technology. Any over reliance on technology as a means of human communication is potentially detrimental to human development. Kids might lose valuable social skills they should be learning.
The availably of information makes it harder to actually "learn" a skill. One can simply download a program and create a blog from scratch with little or no skills in HTML whatsoever. Although the digital age is a great benefit to man kind, giving us information that was previously unavailable, it is also detrimental to our development and can be obsessive or distracting.
The book Personal Connections in the Digital Age, author Mckenna,Green believes "long-distance romances are built and maintained through electronic contact"(pg3) I agree with Greens statement because applications such as Skype and other video calling services have helped long distance relationships to be maintained . Thanks to this technology, it is been possible for individuals to interact with one another even though they are far from one another. An article written by Matt Richtel shows technology's detrimental effects on humans. The article describes the story of a young boy who prefers to spend his time chatting on Facebook and watching videos on YouTube rather than do his summer homework.
The abuse of technology is the biggest issue in our society because its making people lazy and ineffective. I recently watched a video of a woman who fell into the fountain at her local mall while texting; although I initially laughed at the lady's ordeal, I realized that her obsession with technology was so great that she become engrossed in a relationship she had formed and maintained through technology. The same technology that she so highly relied on for communication also lead to her embarrassment. Metaphorically speaking, her over reliance on technology lead to her downfall.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction
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Students have always faced distractions and time-wasters. But computers and cellphones, and the constant stream of stimuli they offer, pose a profound new challenge to focusing and learning. |
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Introduction
So finally i do have a blog. Anyways this is going to be my blog for Communication and Culture class, i am going to be responding to my weekly readings here base on what we have learnt in class.'There is no harm in trying" i have never had a blog before,but i just want to learn something new and thats why i have decided to stay in this class!!
Monday, February 21, 2011
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