I saw this on CNN tonight. If anybody still checks this, here is the link
Have a wonderful summer everyone!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Where people find the time...
I came across this via reddit.com. It's Clay Shirky talking about where people find the time to create entire encyclopedias on the Internet just for fun. He talks about how media consumption is shifting towards a participation-consumption, and the fact that doing SOMETHING (e.g., playing World of Warcraft) is better than doing NOTHING (watching another episode of Gilligan's Island). I think it's 15 minutes or so, but an interesting talk.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Second Life Scavenger Hunt Photos
I should have taken a snapshot of the class, darn. But I put up an album of the scavenger hunt screenshots you guys sent me.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Twitter saves the day?
As reported on CNN.com:
Buck, a graduate student from the University of California-Berkeley, was in Mahalla, Egypt, covering an anti-government protest when he and his translator, Mohammed Maree, were arrested April 10.And Twitter saves the day ...On his way to the police station, Buck took out his cell phone and sent a message to his friends and contacts using the micro-blogging site Twitter.
The message only had one word. "Arrested."
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Who writes Wikipedia? (Besides you)
Depending on how you do your counting, either a tiny core of people are making most of the edits, or an incredible number of people are making contributions. Aaron Swartz crunches some numbers and suggests that Wikipedia is built by the multitudes and cleaned up by a few. This is probably what we expected, but co-founder Jim Wales has argued otherwise.
A possible caveat: We could be over-counting heads because we don't know who all the anonymous users are, and how many people they represent. Someone might be particularly interested in staying incognito (for whatever reason) and to remain anonymous. Or one person might make multiple edits here and there as they stumble across them over several years but never bother to create an account:
e.g., (power)User: Faithlesswonderboy
A possible caveat: We could be over-counting heads because we don't know who all the anonymous users are, and how many people they represent. Someone might be particularly interested in staying incognito (for whatever reason) and to remain anonymous. Or one person might make multiple edits here and there as they stumble across them over several years but never bother to create an account:
e.g., (power)User: Faithlesswonderboy
"I edited for years under various IPs, never bothering to register an account until July 2007, as I was frustrated at my inability to edit Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Unfortunately, I don't know what my IP addresses were; there were many, as I edited at school, various coffeehouses and I borrowed several different wireless signals at my old apartment."
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Hyper-Coordination Via Mobile Phones
Ling and Yitri examines 3 specific age groups within Norway and their use of the mobile phones. Norway provides the ideal sample population as its citizens have one of the highest adoption rates for cell phone use. Whats most intriguing about this specific article is that Ling and Yitri is not so much concerned with how much much cell phone are used within each specific age group but rather the manner in which it is used and the motivations behind its usage.
In terms of methodology, they gathered subjects of 4 age groups that ranged from teenagers to individuals who were well into adulthood. Interviews were conducted through a series of 10 interviews. The motivations Ling and Yitri identified were concerns for security, a need to coordinate, and hyper coordination.
The idea of safety and motivations to assure safety was most expressed among the older users of mobile phones. An example of this is the possibility of car accidents or natural disasters occurring with one needing an immediate means to communicate or seek help. It is only logical for the older age group to express this type of concern as they most likely have dependents and thus the idea of safety becomes more important to them.
In terms of the potential to coordinate, the middle age groups were most drawn to cell phones as a result of this. An example of this is when someone is stuck in traffic and call to tell the person they are meeting that they are going to be late. This is perhaps the most practical aspect of cellphone usage and appropriate to those in the middle age groups who perhaps use cell phones for work.
Finally, the most interesting feature in this study is the idea of hyper coordination. Hyper coordination does not only describe their use of the device to coordinate events with their peers but also include the idea of self expression through their usage. The teenage years are perhaps the key to establishing a sense of an autonomous self. Teens are in a constant attempt to distance themselves from their parents as they are drawing more likeliness to their peers. Their use of the cell phone is the perfect example of this as they use it as a means to connect with friends and express a sense of social belonging. Furthermore, Yitri and Ling state that the cell phone allows teens to form intimate relationships through a new medium. As a whole, they term this expression of self and use of the cell phone for the sake connectivity as hyper coordination.
Discussion Question.
1. One of the interesting things that the researchers predict is that the younger generation who were most willing to adopt the cell phone will continue to use the technology in dynamic ways in the future. Do you believe that the type of usage is natural with age or do you think that the age in which adoption occurs influences the nature of the usage. In other words, when the current young generation gets old, do you think they'll use the phone for safety purposes like the current adults or do you think they'll use it in more dynamic ways because they adopted the technology earlier?
In terms of methodology, they gathered subjects of 4 age groups that ranged from teenagers to individuals who were well into adulthood. Interviews were conducted through a series of 10 interviews. The motivations Ling and Yitri identified were concerns for security, a need to coordinate, and hyper coordination.
The idea of safety and motivations to assure safety was most expressed among the older users of mobile phones. An example of this is the possibility of car accidents or natural disasters occurring with one needing an immediate means to communicate or seek help. It is only logical for the older age group to express this type of concern as they most likely have dependents and thus the idea of safety becomes more important to them.
In terms of the potential to coordinate, the middle age groups were most drawn to cell phones as a result of this. An example of this is when someone is stuck in traffic and call to tell the person they are meeting that they are going to be late. This is perhaps the most practical aspect of cellphone usage and appropriate to those in the middle age groups who perhaps use cell phones for work.
Finally, the most interesting feature in this study is the idea of hyper coordination. Hyper coordination does not only describe their use of the device to coordinate events with their peers but also include the idea of self expression through their usage. The teenage years are perhaps the key to establishing a sense of an autonomous self. Teens are in a constant attempt to distance themselves from their parents as they are drawing more likeliness to their peers. Their use of the cell phone is the perfect example of this as they use it as a means to connect with friends and express a sense of social belonging. Furthermore, Yitri and Ling state that the cell phone allows teens to form intimate relationships through a new medium. As a whole, they term this expression of self and use of the cell phone for the sake connectivity as hyper coordination.
Discussion Question.
1. One of the interesting things that the researchers predict is that the younger generation who were most willing to adopt the cell phone will continue to use the technology in dynamic ways in the future. Do you believe that the type of usage is natural with age or do you think that the age in which adoption occurs influences the nature of the usage. In other words, when the current young generation gets old, do you think they'll use the phone for safety purposes like the current adults or do you think they'll use it in more dynamic ways because they adopted the technology earlier?
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Everyday Internet
New Media and Society
In this article two researchers examine how non-professional Internet users domesticate the Internet into their daily activities. They conducted their research by going into internet users’ homes, interviewing them, and observing their interior and exterior computer environment. Their discussion takes a look at each person’s unique motivation for computer use. Their discussion is more informative than conclusive.
Questions For Discussion:
Other than simply emailing, academia, or as a way to pass time, do you use the Internet for any similar motivations discussed in the article? Do you know any one that has? How?
My Answer:
For me, my parents have always been really strict and when I was younger (late high school) it was difficult for me to communicate with boys or hang out after school, especially at night. In this regard I turned to the Internet to chat with people- mostly guys- for hours. It was a way to satisfy my teenage urge to associate with the opposite sex. I would also surf the web and read articles that would help me fit in as a normal teenager. Like, reading up on teen vogue and checking out American Eagle Outfitters to see what’s cool since I wasn’t able to go out and find out what’s new in the teen world on my own.
Yeah, I told you guys my parents are wack.
In this article two researchers examine how non-professional Internet users domesticate the Internet into their daily activities. They conducted their research by going into internet users’ homes, interviewing them, and observing their interior and exterior computer environment. Their discussion takes a look at each person’s unique motivation for computer use. Their discussion is more informative than conclusive.
Questions For Discussion:
Other than simply emailing, academia, or as a way to pass time, do you use the Internet for any similar motivations discussed in the article? Do you know any one that has? How?
My Answer:
For me, my parents have always been really strict and when I was younger (late high school) it was difficult for me to communicate with boys or hang out after school, especially at night. In this regard I turned to the Internet to chat with people- mostly guys- for hours. It was a way to satisfy my teenage urge to associate with the opposite sex. I would also surf the web and read articles that would help me fit in as a normal teenager. Like, reading up on teen vogue and checking out American Eagle Outfitters to see what’s cool since I wasn’t able to go out and find out what’s new in the teen world on my own.
Yeah, I told you guys my parents are wack.
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