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.