Week 13 -The way we were

Reflections

After a myriad of tasks and a huge amount of data, I am an Avatar with a new found awareness of cause and effect. Technically my skills and knowledge has been enhanced for the better. My overall view after absorbing all this information supplied in class and the lectures..is one that the world benefits from technology and media advancement. Just recently I have read that the international IQ has been growing every 2 years and that they originally thought that it was due to diet but now feel it has to do with the rapid rise of technology. The last and specific task was to examine the differences between instant messenger programs (such as Skype and MSN) and 3D chat rooms. On many levels we have already touched on this during tutorials and the 2^nd life documentary. Put simply, Instant messaging programs are simple, convenient and allow users to communicate and link on a very relaxed basis, from experience I know that most people use these to keep in touch with family, business associates and friends. 3D chat room sites have a higher degree of communication because you can create a character that moves flirts ect. As well as text, however contrary to what has been said, I personally believe it is not as intimate as you are more likely to interact with strangers and portray an exaggerated version of yourself which is about as real as the Avatar you create.

ESSAY - Assessment Item 3

The Millennial Mind

In completing my blog, I have been made aware of a recurring theme, that is, the social impacts of the internet. Friends, lovers, enemies just a mouse click away and privacy only bound by the information provided by the user. There is a new language and a new way to shop. Avators, blogs, wikis and googling are all part of a millennium reality. There is nothing that cannot be done online and the question is, will this enhance society as we know it or destruct it due to a break down of traditional methods of social interaction? Is there truth in the ideas presented in the film Alphaville? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058898/amazon Suggesting widespread dehumanization or is this just sensationalist and a really a good name for a band? These are the questions I would like to address through exploring the rapid rise in “social networking.” The new buzz word of the millennium!

Let us focus first on social networking sites. Facebook, MySpace, You Tube and Flickr have all been documented on the as the main growth areas on the internet in recent years.[ D. Boyd.(2004) Public Displays of Connection.] Followed closely by another aspect of social networking which is of course video and computer games. To begin, let us get some perspective, the social-networking site MySpace has 116 million registered users as of December 2006. If it were a country, it would be the 12th largest in the world (ranking between Mexico and the Philippines).[Donath, Judith. (2007). Signals in Social Supernets] Facebook has over 70 million and growing. With the increase in social networking in mind you can easily comprehend that Second Life –type applications will indeed become the new general interface medium for human activity. Is this necessarily a bad thing or merely an extension of our basic need to communicate and be loved?

Lets look at it from the perspective of a general user.While it is true that there is a marked increase in Social networking sites there are still everyday online choices that we can make as humans (We are not machines yet!) http://www.fepproject.org/issues/internet.html These choices in all applications can be used constructively or destructively. One of the strongest aspects of human nature, which is to have a meaningful relationship, is something that cannot be and will never be developed through an Avatar. T.J. LeGrice emphasizes this in his book “An exploration of what it is to be human.”What could be argued is that supplementing one's everyday, real-life interactions with virtual ones through social-networking sites simply could create a danger of over stimulation. But if users weren't gaining some benefit from their online networks, they wouldn't be signing up by the millions.It is clear that what this increase does show is that interaction is still more important on an intimate level i.e our basic need to communicate and be loved.

What about video and computer games? They are constantly linked with youth violence and aggression, social isolation, desensitization and are often described as meaningless forms of
expression.http://www.gamesconference.org/digra2003/2003/index.php?Games+conference
I believe they are an extension of the way human beings show expression. I was an avid reader as a child and it was not just adult books but certain fairy tales. I will never forgot as they had frightened me for life. This could have been considered as a negative and dangerous impact on my ideas of reality. Games are perhaps the only medium which can allow us to experience guilt over the actions of fictional characters. In a movie or book, one can always pull back and condemn the character or the artist when they cross certain social boundaries. But in playing a game, we choose what happens to the characters. In the right circumstances, we can be encouraged to examine our own values by seeing how we behave within virtual space.

So what are the documented positives to video game playing? Well firstly,contrary to popular belief, much video game play is social and educational. Almost 60 percent of frequent gamers play with friends. Thirty-three percent play with siblings and 25 percent play with spouses or parents. In his recent book, What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, James Gee describes game players as active problem solvers who do not see mistakes as errors, but as opportunities for improvement. Secondly, according to federal crime statistics listed by the Entertainment Software Association. "Top Ten Industry Facts.2003 http://www.theesa.com/pressroom.html The rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low. Interestingly researchers find that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in the general population.Yates and Littleton (1999) Finally, classic studies of play behavior among primates suggest that apes make basic distinctions between play fighting and actual combat. http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/wright/

So to summarize, the internet has certainly proven to be a great tool for gaining wealth and knowledge. It also gives us the opportunity to choose what we want, watch what we want and download what we want. We no longer need to see and hear what marketers want us too. Everything is now on our terms. Of Course some will abuse it as is true with most examples of human nature throughout history, and some will definitely experience internet isolation. Perhaps internet rehab centres for withdrawal may be something of the future? But the main point is as with everything in life we always have a choice. Research in the increase of social networking does above all show that personal contact is still as important and that intimacy is a basic human need.The new generation has not shown signs of being less likely to speak orally or that they are communicating less in any way. They are just more confident and are not afraid of there own opinion.After many hours studying social networking trends and observing that for the majority of us most of our internet interaction is social, it is my conclusion that the Millennial mind is one that is enhanced not dulled.

A private note of thanks to those across cyberspace and the world who have left comments on my university blogpage and via email. I have become aware that blogs are also under the social networking umbrella as my need for intimacy was well fulfilled with your encouragement. X


OTHER NOTABLE SOURCES:

Andrew Murphy and John Potts. Culture and Technology. Palgrave Macmillan.2003
Thomas.P.Hughes. Human-Built World: How to Think about Technology and Culture,University Of Chicago Press. 2005
Sternheimer, Karen. It's Not the Media: The Truth About Popular Culture's
Influence on Children. New York: Westview, 2003.
Poole, Steven. 2000. Trigger Happy: Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution. Arcade Publishing
David.E.Nye. Technology Matters: Questions to Live With. The MIT Press.2007
Thurlow, Crispin, Laura Lengel, and Alice Tomic. Computer Mediated Communication: Social interaction and the internet. London: Sage, 2004.


http://www.netfactual.com/
http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/kids/kidsstats/demographics/studyandwork/tablecomputeruse.cfm
http://www.pewinternet.org/
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
http://www.nielsennetratings.com/
http://www.bernardsalt.com.au/
http://www.passioncomputing.com.au/Articles/The-Social-Impact-of-Technology.aspx
http://bubl.ac.uk/link/t/technologyimpact.htm
http://www.chass.toronto.edu/~wellman/publications/euricom/Examinig-Euricom.htm

Electronic Civil Liberties / Creative Commons / Free and Open Source Software

EFF + CC = OMG 4EVER

Some of the cases that the Electronic Frontier Foundation are currently defending were talked about. This included the NSA/AT&T alleged spying case, where the government allegedly wiretapped the internet communications going through San Francisco. Although I found this interesting I was most intrigued by the Creative Commons and Lawrence Lessig Presentation.

Creative Commons is an organization that allows people to issue creative works under a license that allows more flexibility than the default "all rights reserved" of copyright law. I have already been made aware of this organization through fellow artists, musicians and writers whom I work with daily. But I personally believe it is a gamble, and it's not for everyone. Some people are making good use of that gamble and I have seen this first hand. Some are even making money. Some get marginally famous. Some just want to contribute to the world. But remember that people around the world may be able to reprint your thoughts or ideas in many forms if you use this license. I use the license for some things and am OK with the implications but I always caution my friends to really research this license and be sure that you are comfortable with any possible future repercussions.

The Ethics of Peer-to-Peer Filesharing

'Intellectual property is the oil of the 21st century'

Mark Getty

The Thing Is:

The 20th Century person had their own music that they sang, played and passed from one generation to the next and the idea of paying for music was perhaps just a passing fad.

Discussed in class:
The moral distinction between stealing from a tangible product from a shop and downloading music and movies which are (eventually) given away for free on the radio and TV.Is downloading movies and songs illegal when we pay for the software? Or are the people supplying the software really the ones to blame?

Cocaine Jesus is an example of post-copyright film-making: it is so cheap and easy to do that you can give it away free. Steal this Film Two examines the technological and cultural aspects of the copyright wars, and the implications of the internet for copying.

The Napster Case and the Argument Against Legislative Reform

Main points
1.An MP3 file is a computer file that stores a song in a compressed format. A 32 Megabyte song on a CD can be compressed to about 3 Megabytes without noticeable reduction in quality. MP3 comes from MPEG audio Layer-3, and MPEG is the acronym for Moving Picture Experts Group, the group who developed the compression technology.

2.The digital environment poses a unique threat to the rights of copyright owners, and as such, necessitates protection against devices that undermine copyright interests. In contrast to the analog experience, digital technology enables pirates to reproduce and distribute perfect copies of works - at virtually no cost at all to the pirate. As technology advances, so must our laws.

Blade Runner - P.K.Dick

A dystopian future

Blade Runner is based on the science fiction novel by Phillip K. Dick “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.”

Bladerunner is described as the definitive Cyperpunk film & pulls no punches in asking the most troubling questions about artificial intelligence and cloning. What is a human? If it looks just like one, but we made it, can we kill it?

This distinction between humans and replicants underpins a major moral issue.

One of the more dramatic philosophical points made in the movie is that we can’t trust our memories.There is truth in this and that makes it all the more disturbing.Memory, and its reliability, is a major issue in many of Dick's stories. As well as being a major feature of Blade Runner it also plays a crucial role in both Paycheck and Total Recall. We all know that we can forget things that have happened to us, and there is reason to believe that we can 'remember' things that never happened to us at all, either via hypnosis, or simply by being mistaken. Dick takes this further in many of his stories by describing a future where memories can be surgically implanted or removed and this actually raises questions about our conceived present!

Virtual Philosphy & Cyber Punk

Open your eyes to the imperialist and anti-environmental practices of multinational corporations!!!

Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre based in the possibilities inherent in computers, genetics, body modifications and corporate developments in the near future.

Cybernetics comes from the Greek kybernetes which means steersman or pilot and the concept developed during and after WWII to indicate the use of a systematic approach to complex issues such as managing a large number of computers at distributed sites or understanding the operationms of the brain.

William Gibson is a US/Canadian writer whose fictional work has spawned a number of key concepts like 'cyberspace' and 'virtual reality'. His work sits uncomfortably in the sci-fi genre because its gritty realism about the near future makes it too close to the truth

Matrix -This movie pushes the limits of cyberpunk

Generalized Basic Philosphy - Another Reality exists!

CYBERPUNK THEMES -

1. Technology and Mythology

2. Utopia and Dystopia

3. Cities as Machines

4. Technological change

5. Modernism and Post modernism

My Conclusion:

CYBERPUNK is political and awakens us to the shift from the modern world to the postmodern experience of something far more difficult and diffuse than 'the world'.

Are games a waste of time?

The Extensions of Man / Woman….Perhaps???

Video Games Studies include:
Arcade, Games, Consoles, Computer, Games ,MUDs, MMOGs

Theoretical Considerations to Approaching Video Games Academically:
Media Effects and Games The Persistence of Effect Games and Utopia
It is observed that video games are just a new form of cultural practice... just an evolution or continuation of old media like newspapers, radio, television, films.

Narratology is the study of video games from the perspective of them being stories or literary works. People who follow this sort of approach think that games can be studied like 'texts' in the same way people study other 'texts' (most commonly the book, but the word text can include other cultural products like films, paintings or music).
Ludology, in contrast to narratology, is not concerned with the story elements of games but rather with the Game Play elements. People who have written work that is classified as ludology tend to follow the argument that the story elements in many games are there for decoration only, and is incidental to just playing a game.

My Conclusion:

There is more to video games than just the story and the gameplay. Video games are mediums of communication and expression. They have a history of growth like cinema and other forms of media.They are a natural extension of mankind’s need for expression and release.

Cronenberg: Cinema and Technology

eXistenZ

Is it just me, or does Cronenberg look alot like Bill Gates???

I LOVE Cronenberg films. I never forgot the first time I saw “The Fly.” I was so disturbed by it. Cronenberg is fascinated by what I believe is termed post-humanity; that is, by the impact of technology on the human body. This film forms part of the group of mixing intellectual and artistic practices. He forces us to rethink the human body and habit and question the effects of rapid advancement in genetic engineering and robotics.

To Summarize, "Existenz" shows a time imagined in the not too distant future when technology has made game-playing far more elaborate than the video games we know today.There are references to a "MetaFlesh Game-Pod" which is attached by an "umbrycord" plugged into a "bioport" located at the base of the player's spine.(Actually..I read in the New York Times recently that something along the same lines has been created in Japan for a live TV game show!) The player's own energy supplies the power, and more than one player is connected to the same game; the game changes every time it's played, and the players have difficulty deciding what's real and what isn't.

Generally though, The concepts revealed as problematic in the film scenario conceived are those of "nature" and "reality" and, in a sense, new forms of communication which also precipitate us into a distinction between "natural" communication practices and “new” communication practices.With this in mind, I am grateful that New Communication Technology doesn’t require us to learn how to attach a MetaFlesh Game-Pod as a task.

Brief History of the Internet

Bill Gates Mugshot, Mexico 1977

ABRIDGED

• Charles Babbage invented in the 19th Century the "Difference engine" and sketched out the structure of a modern computer.

• Ada Byron first conceived of a machine which would be able to compose and play music, produce graphics and be of everyday use. She also conceived the first computer program.

• Alan Turing- Enigma machine. devised first working computer. Philosophical paper- Computing Machinery and Intelligence.

• Computers were first commercially produced by IBM in the 1950s.

• Gordon Moore developed "Moore s Law" in 1965 and co-founded Intel Corporation in 1968

• Xerox PARC – early 70’s, developed concepts such as the mouse, the graphical user interface (GUI) and pull-down menus that made the personal computers of today possible and approachable by the general user.

• The first PC was released in 1975 it was called the “0”

• Bill gates started writing a language called BASIC for the Altair, so that it could be used for simple applications like word processing, basic accounting and some games.To market his programmes he started a little company called Microsoft.
  

• Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created Apple.Apple 2 was launched at a computer fair in 1978

• IBM merge with Microsoft - Gary Kildall, the head of Digital Research Inc, and Bill Gates, the owner of Microsoft ( Biggest Software developer in the valley.) Bill Gates purchases "Kudos" an operating system and IBM through assocaition with Microsoft takes over the larger share of the market.

• 1998 Steve Jobs returns to Apple and Apple Resurrects

• Other Interesting information provided:

1.The internet, is a network of networks (what is often called an internetwork).
2.World Wibe Web WWW - (i) internetworking and (ii) hypertext to make an easy-to-use,
powerful, global system that shares all information accessible as part of a seamless
hypertext space. The Web includes all the internet sites that people have made available
on servers around the world.
3.The web is an application of the internet
4.Early internet applications are:
Email
File Transfer protocol –FTP
Internet Relay Chat IRC
MUD- multi user playing machines.

Task Force 2

Search Engines

How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?

Early search engines (e.g. Excite or Altavista ) ranked pages based on page content and formatting and based on the content of metadata tags. Attention was apparently paid to bold text or to keywords and summaries in the head of the HTML document.

Google ranks by how frequently other sites link to you, not by what you do or don't say on your site. Basically your popularity is what counts. They also use what is on your site to determine whether your page is of relevance. Of course its techniques are ever changing though.

Other search engine companies are merely competing with Google and are mostly already incorporating many of Google's techniques to improve their own results

Who, or what, makes one page (that you might get in your search results) more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?

A direct, plain-text link from a site with a high Google rank will increase any businesses / advertisers own Google rank

What are some of your favourite search engines?
Why do you like one more than others?

www.google.com - An old friend in IT told me that search engine placement can not be directly purchased on Google and I like that Google clearly distinguishes "sponsored links" from search results

Walter Benjamin

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Production

The essay was interesting and forced the reader to not only note the transition between the cult value and the exchange value of art, but also question the future. It is too easy to draw conclusions about the negative effect mechanical production has on cultic works and I do not think that this is what Benjamin was trying to emphasize. I think the focus is on what the transition into reproducibility means for art as a whole. Apart from bringing old works into new modes, what about reproducing future works?

Commoditization of the work of art is definitely an issue. I wonder how do we produce in the age without allowing the work to become commoditized ? or do we? Is there a value to the dissemination of art without loss of quality? Personally I think that depends on your definitions of quality. I know artists who work computer magic and create awe inspiring art and film and yet I still prefer the tactile quality of yesteryear. A reproduction of Jackson Pollack may on all accounts be sharp and indistinguishable ( I saw one created from a computer in New York) but you know he hasn’t pissed on it himself. A human touch and statement that cannot be replicated.

Task Force + Why I hate Wikipedia

Task at Hand demonstrates Why I hate Wikipedia

Some of the Wiki answers are accurate and some answers actually made me question my other sources,however it is very clear that Wikipedia is by no means a reliable source.

Who was the inventor of the ‘love bug’ computer virus?
Onel de Guzman, in the Philippines in 2000 admitted to writing this type of virus and that it may have been released by accident

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03EFD81639F935A3575AC0A9669C8B6

WIKI ANSWER: Chris Moon ( With "Citation Needed" written next to name)

Who invented the paperclip?
Samuel B Fay 1867

http://www.officemuseum.com/paper_clips.htm

WIKI ANSWER: SAME AS ABOVE

How did the Ebola virus get its name?
The virus gets its name from the Ebola river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it was first recognized in 1976

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9002205/Ebol

WIKI ANSWER: The "EBLOA" River in Africa ( Spelt wrong the last time I checked! )

What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
9.5 earthquake in Chile in 1960

http://www.geotimes.org/dec04/WebExtra122704.html

WIKI ANSWER: SAME AS ABOVE

In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
1073741824 kilobytes = 1 terabyte

http://www.unit-conversion.info/computer.html

WIKI ANSWER: SAME AS ABOVE

Who is the creator of email?
Ray Tomlinson

http://www.forbes.com/asap/1998/1005/126.html

WIKI ANSWER: The exact beginnings are murky but it is known that Ray Tomlinson initiated the use of the @ sign to separate the names of the user and their machine in 1971.

What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?
It's a network of computers that have been infected via malicious e-mail messages, and are centrally controlled via the Overnet P-to-P protocol.Approximately 1.5 million were infected.Originally it was estimated that around 50 million were infected.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138721-c,virusesworms/article.html

WIKI ANSWER: The Storm Worm began infecting thousands of (mostly private) computers in Europe and the United States using an email message.As of January 22nd,2007, The storm Worm accounted for 8% of all infections globally

If you wanted to contact the prime minister of Australia directly, what is the
most efficient way?
By Post:
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

By Phone:
Ph (02) 6277 4022, Fax (02) 6277 8495

By Email:
Kevin.Rudd.MP@aph.gov.au

Activist sites regularly employ people to find Government details. They are motivated to find accurate information as it is their passion to make a difference.
http://www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/take-action-1

Not on Wikipedia

Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
"The Pink Pencil Pushers"...Only joking..." The Black Assassins"

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~toxicoh/blackas.htm

Not on Wikipedia

What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
An umbrella term for the second wave of the World Wide Web, which was coined by O'Reilly Media and CMP Media in their 2004 and subsequent conferences on the subject.Its about making the Internet useful for computers.

http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

WIKI ANSWER: Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.

Alphaville

Lemmy Caution......Art imitates Life!

Alphaville was an unusual film to say the least. Definitely a strange adventure! It was both disturbing and funny. It manages to be classic film noir ( Which I love) A mix of imaginative science-fiction, action and suspense and - most surprisingly of all - a very entertaining black comedy

Jean-Luc Godard artfully outlines concerns about the impact of computer technology on society at the time, with the underlining suggestion that widespread dehumanization and total state control will be the outcome. These themes are popular and at first I thought it was cute but not a very original observation.( Although obviously this film/book predates Ridley Scott!)

However, I believe the real genius of this film lies in Godard's exploration of the idea rather than the idea itself. Nowadays. In my mind it easy to draw parallels between Alphaville and the ever-expanding Bill Gates empire.

So these questions were raised in the tutorial. Is technology the new utopia or really the new distopia? Obviously the film suggests distopia with a continual transference from a knowledge culture to a mechanised society. Perhaps art imitates life...Wouldn't be the first time.I guess only time will tell.

Online Reading

The Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-dissidents

I feel foolish writing about this now.As I believe this handbook will be something I will be picking up again and again even well into the future and each time with new understanding and stronger skills.In these early stages,to be honest, the appeal immediately lay in the early chapters that to me cover a well rounded introduction to Blogging, Blogging terminology, blogging tools and basically all aspects of getting started.I am still reading and re-reading these though. So forgive me if my research is not reflected in my writing yet.

If I was to attempt to summarize the entire handbook within this 100 word blog..(Ambitious, I know!) I would say that it is an effective tool for reference on how to set up , how to get noticed, How to produce a quality Blog that is also credible and most importantly how to avoid getting in trouble!

I did find the "personal accounts" from Bloggers around the world inspirational and after reading those was looking forward to using this communication tool more effectively.

At this early stage of understanding and experiment.I would say, it was an immensely useful handbook for anyone with a passion to communicate with the world.

But I think this blogger in training better re-read again (when it is not in the middle of the night) to try and improve!

Desiderata

You Only Live Twice

WHO DOESN'T WANT A SECOND LIFE?

A virtual world where people can create a life..A new life.Where your online presence can be more impressive than your offline presence.Some where you can take the risks and test your desires without any real consequence, If you don't like the way your life is panning out you can simply shut it down and start again.Who wouldn't want to have that?

Aside from all this the documentary covered a fairly insightful orientation into this world.
Like the world we live in this included such subtopics as currency, real estate, shopping/retail, nightclubs, Sex, governance,tax,stock exchange, general frustrations, psychology and debate.

I saw a new way to interact with and conceive digital information.It does not appear to be another virtual world site or game but a strong link in the evolution of information and the overall expansion of the net.

Its user generated content is what appeals to me most and obviously those on this Documentary who have already seized a lucrative opportunity through marketing,advertising and retail.They are aware of its potential for further growth.

I want a Second Life.

Desiderata

It's all about me

WEEK 1

NEW COMMUNICATION TECH.

When I was at school, the computers were of the prehistoric large kind and students lumbered cases of floppy disks around.The only students allowed near them were those of the scientific and mathematical species.Being of the artistic species I could only stare in wonder outside the newly built computer room.Since then, I have always had a fascination for technology and gadgetry.
I am self taught and type terribly but could not live without my laptop.An ex partner once fought with me over wanting me to swap my Mac for Windows...Needless to say that relationship did not work out.Ironically I now run both...but on my Mac! My precious, darling Mac, but I digress..
As an artist I have observed that in most areas of art,literature and music there is no real NEW ground to cover.Just an endless circle of re-invention.No matter what you produce someone always compares your work to someone of yesteryear.Phrases, chords & paint strokes, although will always be vital for expression/communication have been technically exhausted.
New Communication Technology is one area where opportunity for completely new ideas and frontiers are open to discovery and I find that very exciting.That is one of the main reasons why this fossil has come back to university.

Desiderata

P.S
I noticed that alot of the people in my class expressed [ in this first tutorial ] the desire to work in Film and Television.I have worked in this industry since I left school.So in the spirit of blogging, I thought I would share a video that has been circulating lately around my film industry peers.There are strong elements of truth in it...

True or False

Week 2
Overview

Enjoyed the Tutorial today.Set up Blogger.com, heard the analysis of the survey from the week before, learnt there was a space on the drive that I can save with my student number & discussed "opposing" New Communication issues and had to sheepishly admit that I occasionally reference Wikipedia even though I know it is not an accurate source...and finally,discussed the topics raised at the Lecture related to the question "is email dead?" which I will summarize to the best of my ability :

• Phishing or fishing?
  
• Scams or Spam?
• Politics or Propaganda

Discussion Questions Raised in Tutorial Post Lecture:

1.Are Bloggers Journalists? ( I dated a Journalist blogger Once ?)

Link for an example of a journalist blog = http://nymag.com/news/features/44454/

2.How accurate are their sources? (Hmmmm....As a blogger, my current source is my fellow classmates, which means if statistically they take away 10% of the lecture [as quoted by Chris Mamozelos] then my breakdown would be lucky to cover 2%..interesting)

3.Are there ethics or morals involved? (Have read about this, but believe that it is all a matter of perspective, and depends, despite basic rules of conduct, if the Blogger himself has these attributes it also would depend largely if money was involved.)

4. What is true and what is false? ( In this particular case...There is honesty involved in this blog, however, it is based on false or misleading interpretations! )

Desiderata