A recent survey showed that over half of adults play video games. 81 percent of respondents between 18 and 29 said they play games, compared with 23 percent of people 65 and older. A stereotype can't often be placed in this day and age of gamers, because everyone plays them. In fact, 55 percent of women and 55 percent of men play video games. Video game companies are trying to expand their audience by catering to women and families. They have expanded they have expanded their audience through the games that they launch, such as the Wii. The Wii appeals to everyone because it ranges anywhere from Dance Revolution to Yoga. The survey also found that parents with young children and teenagers are big gamers. Overall, the survey found that 68 percent of parents play video games.
Technology in general is being used by all walks off life, not just in video games. Social networks like Facebook and myspace which were considered networking between young teens, are now being used by adults to network. Today, the average facebooker can range anywhere from 16-45. For instance, the other day I got requested by both my aunt and uncle who are in their mid 30s. At first, I found this to be ackward and uncomfortable but once I put some more thought into it, it wasn't so ackward. Everyday uses of technology are being used by adults and teens alike. The limits of technology are becoming limitless. Text messaging is yet another example of technology. Text messaging has become an easy chat between two people who want to talk but maybe not directly. I personally love texting and can't get enough of it. To me, its easy and convenient. I just knew that this would be something just amongst teens, right? Wrong. I have to say that each morning I wake up, there is yet another text message from my mom. I swear she uses text messaging more than me now. It's insane.
Different types of technology allows people to exscape the realities of the world and enter a world that hey want to create. One game expert said, "Real life can suck, and games are designed not to. That's why it's important for most people." 3D virtual worlds like Second life are being created were users can socialize, connect, and create text chat.
Today, technology is being used to connect people from all walks of life. Young and old, male or female, black or white. I think that technology has molded the world in connecting people from all over the world. Overall, I think technology is positive CMC, but can be negative. People can can get access to others inforamtion through social networks like myspace and facebook and it can beocme dangerous. Also, if the age range for most of the technology ranges from early teens to late adults, young teens can become targets of cyberbullying not only from peolpe of their own age but older adults.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Technology is using us?
Computer systems of the McCain and Obama camps as well as the White House were hacked during the campaign by Chinese computer hackers. The hacker got into the private e-mail accounts of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Later Newsweek reported that both Obama and McCain campaigns were also hacked into.
The incidents were later reported to the Cyber Defense agency, a private company that advises government hacking. They have determined that attacks originated in China. The government and American industry are spending billions of dollars to develop new products for the computers being hacked.
The Chinese when confronted were supposedly trying to start cyber war with the U.S., which coincides with cyber bullying. Both are ways someone uses the computer as a way to attack or bully someone else. Both cyber war and cyber bullying can be dangerous because once someone has access to your information it is hard to stop the person from using it against you.
This is also an example of negative CMC. People are able to access other people’s information and it can become dangerous. With the growing rate of technology, the more people have to be aware of their privacy. Social networks like Facebook and MySpace have become primary examples of various privacy cases where people find out that their privacy is being invaded. Technology is rapidly expanding in the world but many of us need to be aware of what comes with it. For instance, with social networks there is so much information that many of us provide for others to see and are not aware of everyone who views our page and information.
Often times, it is hard to believe how much our world revolves around technology. Technology itself is another world which we see through programs like Second Life. CMC allows us to keep up with current events around the world, keep close relationships with people far away, and find out information about almost anything in the world. Although there are many positives, there are negatives. Social networks like Facebook keep students from doing work as it is often used for procrastination, with the amount of information that can be given from the web comes the issue of (ethics) plagiarism, and privacy invasion is a continuing issue that occurs often for people who are apart of social networks and share their information. With the good and the bad, we are the web. The video The Machine is Us/ing Us, is a good example of this idea. We use the web/technology for everything and over 100 billion are said to use the web each day. If we are always on it and use it for everything, we are the web.
The incidents were later reported to the Cyber Defense agency, a private company that advises government hacking. They have determined that attacks originated in China. The government and American industry are spending billions of dollars to develop new products for the computers being hacked.
The Chinese when confronted were supposedly trying to start cyber war with the U.S., which coincides with cyber bullying. Both are ways someone uses the computer as a way to attack or bully someone else. Both cyber war and cyber bullying can be dangerous because once someone has access to your information it is hard to stop the person from using it against you.
This is also an example of negative CMC. People are able to access other people’s information and it can become dangerous. With the growing rate of technology, the more people have to be aware of their privacy. Social networks like Facebook and MySpace have become primary examples of various privacy cases where people find out that their privacy is being invaded. Technology is rapidly expanding in the world but many of us need to be aware of what comes with it. For instance, with social networks there is so much information that many of us provide for others to see and are not aware of everyone who views our page and information.
Often times, it is hard to believe how much our world revolves around technology. Technology itself is another world which we see through programs like Second Life. CMC allows us to keep up with current events around the world, keep close relationships with people far away, and find out information about almost anything in the world. Although there are many positives, there are negatives. Social networks like Facebook keep students from doing work as it is often used for procrastination, with the amount of information that can be given from the web comes the issue of (ethics) plagiarism, and privacy invasion is a continuing issue that occurs often for people who are apart of social networks and share their information. With the good and the bad, we are the web. The video The Machine is Us/ing Us, is a good example of this idea. We use the web/technology for everything and over 100 billion are said to use the web each day. If we are always on it and use it for everything, we are the web.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
U.S. Voters Use The Internet....
Barack Obama and John McCain have relied heavily on the Internet for their US presidential campaigns but it's not just the candidates who have tapped into the power of the web this election.
The voters have too whether it's finding how much money a neighbor or a celebrity has donated, watching a video on YouTube, reading a political blog or news site or consulting an online "Truth-O-Meter" for politicians. There are a lot of non-partisan sites that have information, like techpresident.com, a blog which covers politics and the web.
Voters can even see how much someone donated this election cycle and to whom by going to to opensecrets.org and typing a name in the search box along with a home state and/or zip code.
There's also votesmart.org, which gives information about local and state-level candidates.
Opencongress.org is great for looking into the record of congressional incumbents -- what bills they've been sponsoring, how they've voted.
There's also Thomas, thomas.loc.gov, which is run by the US Library of Congress and tracks all legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives.
And if voters think a candidate maybe stretching the truth, they can try politifact.com, a site run by Congressional Quarterly magazine and a Florida newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times, which checks the accuracy of statements made on the campaign trail with its "Truth-O-Meter."
There's also factcheck.org, a non-partisan site with the mission statement "Holding Politicians Accountable."
If voters want to check on the polls, there are dozens of polling sites like realclearpolitics.com
If they want to report a problem on Election Day, YouTube has encouraged voters to take a camera phone or a video camera into the polling booth.
Footage from the "Video Your Vote" project is being posted at youtube.com/videoyourvote and can be tagged, if appropriate: "voter intimidation," "polling place problems" or "registration problems."
Twitter partnered with techpresident.com and others to launch "Twitter Vote Report," where voters can send the short messages known as "tweets" about their voting experience and report any problems.
Google and Yahoo have come up with their own tools for tracking the election online like mapthecandidates.com, which uses a Google map and every time a candidate made a road stop they collected as much information as they could like newspaper articles, the text of the speeches, video clips of the speeches, analysis of what was said.
According to a Pew poll 59 percent of registered voters have sought election content online or had some type of online communication about the campaign.
The use of online video in particular has exploded with the rise of YouTube as a political force.
Thirty-nine percent of voters told Pew in October that they have watched some type of campaign-related video online, up from 24 percent in December, and eight percent of voters have visited a social network for campaign information.
Overall, the Internet has become the top source for finding information, especially for this year's election which is said to be one of the biggest elections of all time. The Internet is becoming larger than other technologies like t.v.where people would rather look up the news, as opposed to watching it. I know that I prefer the Internet over the t.v. because it is convenient. I can look up information on the Internet anytime, as opposed to the t.v. where I have to look and see what programs are scheduled for what time etc. Another large factor in my use of the Internet rather than t.v. is that the information is broad. T.V. is limited in the amount of information it can give users because news shows have scheduled times and can only provide a certain amount of information within that time. The Internet can provide whatever information you want with no time constraints. In the years to come, the Internet will continue to be the number one source for information because of its convenience and consistency.
The voters have too whether it's finding how much money a neighbor or a celebrity has donated, watching a video on YouTube, reading a political blog or news site or consulting an online "Truth-O-Meter" for politicians. There are a lot of non-partisan sites that have information, like techpresident.com, a blog which covers politics and the web.
Voters can even see how much someone donated this election cycle and to whom by going to to opensecrets.org and typing a name in the search box along with a home state and/or zip code.
There's also votesmart.org, which gives information about local and state-level candidates.
Opencongress.org is great for looking into the record of congressional incumbents -- what bills they've been sponsoring, how they've voted.
There's also Thomas, thomas.loc.gov, which is run by the US Library of Congress and tracks all legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives.
And if voters think a candidate maybe stretching the truth, they can try politifact.com, a site run by Congressional Quarterly magazine and a Florida newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times, which checks the accuracy of statements made on the campaign trail with its "Truth-O-Meter."
There's also factcheck.org, a non-partisan site with the mission statement "Holding Politicians Accountable."
If voters want to check on the polls, there are dozens of polling sites like realclearpolitics.com
If they want to report a problem on Election Day, YouTube has encouraged voters to take a camera phone or a video camera into the polling booth.
Footage from the "Video Your Vote" project is being posted at youtube.com/videoyourvote and can be tagged, if appropriate: "voter intimidation," "polling place problems" or "registration problems."
Twitter partnered with techpresident.com and others to launch "Twitter Vote Report," where voters can send the short messages known as "tweets" about their voting experience and report any problems.
Google and Yahoo have come up with their own tools for tracking the election online like mapthecandidates.com, which uses a Google map and every time a candidate made a road stop they collected as much information as they could like newspaper articles, the text of the speeches, video clips of the speeches, analysis of what was said.
According to a Pew poll 59 percent of registered voters have sought election content online or had some type of online communication about the campaign.
The use of online video in particular has exploded with the rise of YouTube as a political force.
Thirty-nine percent of voters told Pew in October that they have watched some type of campaign-related video online, up from 24 percent in December, and eight percent of voters have visited a social network for campaign information.
Overall, the Internet has become the top source for finding information, especially for this year's election which is said to be one of the biggest elections of all time. The Internet is becoming larger than other technologies like t.v.where people would rather look up the news, as opposed to watching it. I know that I prefer the Internet over the t.v. because it is convenient. I can look up information on the Internet anytime, as opposed to the t.v. where I have to look and see what programs are scheduled for what time etc. Another large factor in my use of the Internet rather than t.v. is that the information is broad. T.V. is limited in the amount of information it can give users because news shows have scheduled times and can only provide a certain amount of information within that time. The Internet can provide whatever information you want with no time constraints. In the years to come, the Internet will continue to be the number one source for information because of its convenience and consistency.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Cyberbullying
Kids continue to keep parents in the dark about cyberbullying . Three out of four teens were bullied online over the last year, according to a study released last week. And while that number may seem high at the outset, only in 1 in 10 of those kids told their parents or another adult about it, the study showed.The anonymous Web-based study surveyed 1,454 kids between the ages of 12 and 17. Of those, 41 percent reported between one and three cyberbullying incidents during the year; 13 percent reported four to six incidents; and 19 percent reported seven or more. Many teens neglected to tell their parents about the incidents because they believed they "need to learn to deal with it," according to the research. Others kept it to themselves because they feared their parents would cut back on their Internet access.
The word "flaming" (being aggressive online) has been discussed in class and relates to the behavior of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is an example of negative CMC where access to information can become dangerous. I definitely think that parents talk with their kids about bullying well before it happens, as well as look for changes in teen's behavior. However, it's also equally important to teach children the importance of not becoming bullies.
The world of Internet has evolved so much throughout the years. No longer is bullying related to the geeks and nerds when it comes to Internet but has been related to almost everyone who has access to the Internet. The Internet has become useful for many things but has also become dangerous and an invasion of privacy for most. Parents please make sure that your child is being protected and don't assume that their not a victim of cyberbullying.
The word "flaming" (being aggressive online) has been discussed in class and relates to the behavior of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is an example of negative CMC where access to information can become dangerous. I definitely think that parents talk with their kids about bullying well before it happens, as well as look for changes in teen's behavior. However, it's also equally important to teach children the importance of not becoming bullies.
The world of Internet has evolved so much throughout the years. No longer is bullying related to the geeks and nerds when it comes to Internet but has been related to almost everyone who has access to the Internet. The Internet has become useful for many things but has also become dangerous and an invasion of privacy for most. Parents please make sure that your child is being protected and don't assume that their not a victim of cyberbullying.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Could these shocks become true?
Almost everyone has talked about the progress of technology and what's more to come. According to an article, " 10 future shocks for the next 10 years, " there are 10 potential changes that will occur within technology.
First, the high cost power and space is going to force the IT world to look at cloud services. It's almost like we just dump requests to the machine and get results. Second, by 2018, the human/machine interface will be ubiquitous, with people walking around giving voice/whisper commands and using ear bud audio and an eyeglass display that superimposes a machine-enhanced view of the world on ordinary vision. Nobody will notice that half the population is cyborg, because we'll get there one small step at a time, as iPhone belt-clip holders give way to the iBeltBuckle, iGlasses and iEarRings. Third, you come home to do a little work on the computer, and when you turn it on, it boots up in just a few seconds with no issues. You open e-mail and it comes up without your having to wait. In fact, this new OS doesn't even have an hourglass icon! For the rest of the night, your computer does everything you ask it to do, without any waiting or errors. Fourth, a memex device will continuously capture all audio and video from your daily experiences and upload that content to the cloud, where it will recognize your tasks, interesting information, and reminders -all searchable. A summary of important content from your day will be available through your PDA automatically. Fifth, the smart phone evolving into the preferred instrument for constant connectivity, with voice interaction, facial recognition, location awareness, constant video and sound input, and multi touch screens. Sixth, By 2018, automation will have hit enough labor sectors that while the GDP will continue to grow, fewer and fewer people will receive that growth in the form of wages. This will drive either social collapse or the establishment of a no-apologies welfare state. Seventh, one day you'll be able to see a picture of something or take a picture of something, and load it into a search engine and have it scan the pic, search, and tell you what it is. Eighth, in the next 10 years, perfect governmental tracking and monitoring of each human being will become reality. Ninth, devices that are always receiving information and displaying it on low-draw screens in the cover of phones and portable computers will meet networks that are always available to make your interaction with the information world more like a flowing stream. Tenth, by 2018 we will use technology to remember and fortify social connections. You'll get together socially with a friend, geo-locate, take pictures, Twitter, make notes and videos, and so on, and it all gets automatically filed away.
While some of these shocks sound good the majority of these 1o future shocks, come as a shock. At times, it is hard to imagine how far we have come in technology already and will become even harder to imagine progress in the next years ahead. These shocks can almost be compared to the book"1984," and the movie "The Truman Show," where there is little or no privacy. Where would we go to be alone? How will we react when we know were being followed? This article reminds me of the video we watched in class called, "The Machine is Us/ing Us." This video showed the idea that with the use of the web and technology, we must consider our ethics but most importantly our privacy as an issue. Without privacy, there becomes an easy access to information and can be dangerous.
Overall, within the next couple of years the machine will be a big part of our lives. Technology will give us all the information we need. It will watch us and wait for us to use it for vital information. We have become a world based on CMC using electronic devices to communicate.
First, the high cost power and space is going to force the IT world to look at cloud services. It's almost like we just dump requests to the machine and get results. Second, by 2018, the human/machine interface will be ubiquitous, with people walking around giving voice/whisper commands and using ear bud audio and an eyeglass display that superimposes a machine-enhanced view of the world on ordinary vision. Nobody will notice that half the population is cyborg, because we'll get there one small step at a time, as iPhone belt-clip holders give way to the iBeltBuckle, iGlasses and iEarRings. Third, you come home to do a little work on the computer, and when you turn it on, it boots up in just a few seconds with no issues. You open e-mail and it comes up without your having to wait. In fact, this new OS doesn't even have an hourglass icon! For the rest of the night, your computer does everything you ask it to do, without any waiting or errors. Fourth, a memex device will continuously capture all audio and video from your daily experiences and upload that content to the cloud, where it will recognize your tasks, interesting information, and reminders -all searchable. A summary of important content from your day will be available through your PDA automatically. Fifth, the smart phone evolving into the preferred instrument for constant connectivity, with voice interaction, facial recognition, location awareness, constant video and sound input, and multi touch screens. Sixth, By 2018, automation will have hit enough labor sectors that while the GDP will continue to grow, fewer and fewer people will receive that growth in the form of wages. This will drive either social collapse or the establishment of a no-apologies welfare state. Seventh, one day you'll be able to see a picture of something or take a picture of something, and load it into a search engine and have it scan the pic, search, and tell you what it is. Eighth, in the next 10 years, perfect governmental tracking and monitoring of each human being will become reality. Ninth, devices that are always receiving information and displaying it on low-draw screens in the cover of phones and portable computers will meet networks that are always available to make your interaction with the information world more like a flowing stream. Tenth, by 2018 we will use technology to remember and fortify social connections. You'll get together socially with a friend, geo-locate, take pictures, Twitter, make notes and videos, and so on, and it all gets automatically filed away.
While some of these shocks sound good the majority of these 1o future shocks, come as a shock. At times, it is hard to imagine how far we have come in technology already and will become even harder to imagine progress in the next years ahead. These shocks can almost be compared to the book"1984," and the movie "The Truman Show," where there is little or no privacy. Where would we go to be alone? How will we react when we know were being followed? This article reminds me of the video we watched in class called, "The Machine is Us/ing Us." This video showed the idea that with the use of the web and technology, we must consider our ethics but most importantly our privacy as an issue. Without privacy, there becomes an easy access to information and can be dangerous.
Overall, within the next couple of years the machine will be a big part of our lives. Technology will give us all the information we need. It will watch us and wait for us to use it for vital information. We have become a world based on CMC using electronic devices to communicate.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Technology= Friends?
I know that technology has come a long way from previous years, but I didn't realize how far it has come exactly until today. One of my friends had mentioned to me her troubles with her boyfriend and her relationship, and didn't know what to do about it. Before getting my advice, she gets on the computer, goes to Google, and looks up how to deal with a troubling relationship. I thought that that was a little absurd. Situations that we use to ask family members or friends, we are asking the computer. I was in shock that she would even begin to believe that the computer could help her relationship. Things like friendships and relationships I feel like we have to deal with personally and not through technology. Writing to a computer is not going to mend a broken heart or bring together a friendship. With all this said, she of course had things to say about it. While talking to me, she expressed her knowledge of a computer not being able to fix her relationship but help. She stated how people like her get on the computer for advice and some even write their experiences on the computer to help others. This I do agree on. Yes, I do believe that people write things that they've learned or experienced on the computer but I don't agree that situations close to the heart, should be dealt with by technology. Through this situation, I began to contemplate. I thought to myself, how our relationships we build with others are becoming affected. Its almost like computers are our friends. We go to them for information, count on them to be there every second of everyday, and miss them when were not near them. Which leads me to the question, who needs friends when you have technology?
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Response
In this Buffy episode, the writer was trying to convey the differences that have evolved between older and newer technology by comparing the characters. At the very beginning, a monster is let free out of a book because the computers scanned the spell. The monster is known to have a spell on people through his smooth lines and captivating words. Earlier in the episode, the monster is seen years ago killing off people with his personal words of love. Later in the episode, the monster stills captivates people with the same lines but with impersonal communication. In fact, he does this through a computer. Throughout the episode, we see the monster have a spell over one of the main characters through use of email. The main character becomes infactuated with lines written back and forth between her and the monster without even getting a glimspe of what he looks like, or even any perosnal communication. Another main character refers to reality as being virtual,he says "the only reality is virtual and the last two years more email has been sent than regular mail." In this episode, the writer is warning all of us who are consumed and infactuated by technology, that it can in fact take over us. We get this idea through the main character who becomes infactuated with the monster through email and by the guy who works at the library and believes that technolgy is ridiculous. He says everyone is manipulated by technology and that human interaction is now said to be absurb. In the beginning we immediately see that he is not in technology when he calls the t.v. the "idiot box". At the end, we see get a glimpse of why he doesn't like technology when he talks about the smell of books. He says, "books smell, computers have no context, doesn't last, if it shall, it should be smelly." The character longs for the touch, the smell, the personal feeling that computer can't offer. The main message is to not let computers take over us. At the beginning, we see the computers scan the book itself. Don't let them outsmart us.
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