The website I have chosen to analyse is the Sky News website. The link is http://news.sky.com/skynews/home. So maybe having a look around the site may be a good idea so you understand my posts and have experience of the site to comment back.
So this website supplements the television channel and summarises any main stories that have been featured on the channel currently. However, there is a search system where older stories can be found.
When you find a story you are interested in, the page will bring up the full story, but also pictures, more related stories and usually a clip of the report which has featured on the television channel.
I have chosen this story about the ‘Alexey Maryshev’ tourist ship that was it by a falling glacier in the Arctic to use as an example. http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1279335,00.html
I chose this story as it’s one that I don’t think all of you will have heard of, so after reading it, it would be interesting to see how easy it was to understand and take away any key points. Because I personally think the way their reports are written are very concise and to the point and easy to take away all the main details. But if you could read that or any others and comment back about how detailed/interesting/comprehensive you found them.
Friday, 29 February 2008
Website Analysis 2 - Content
The headlines are divided up into different sections such as ‘UK News’, ‘World News’, ‘Strange News’, ‘Technology’, etc so it covers a broad range of stories. The ‘UK News’ and ‘World News’ headlines are the ones which are updated most and feature most heavily on the homepage as these are obviously considered more important than the other topics and more relevant than some of the more obscure features. For example if something big was happening (such as reportings of a terrorist attack somewhere) and people looked at the Sky News website, they could expect to find breaking news from these sorts of stories on the homepage rather than ‘Israeli Police Hunt Chocoholic Thieves’ which is featured in the ‘Strange News’ section. I tend to find their hierarchy of stories is generally fair and there tends to be a good choice/variety of top stories chosen to ensure people want to click on and read.
The website is striking and sophisticated, even though there is a lot of information, it’s all clear and our eyes are still drawn to the top stories.
The company’s corporate identity is clear and reflects the colour scheme and fonts, etc of the television channel. This is very important so that our brains can associate one with the other and make the connection whether it’s a subconscious one or not.
The background is white which looks professional and neutral as white is not going to exclude any part of society. The dominant colours are white, red and black. These 3 work well with eachother and everything can be read clearly. The hyperlinks along the left hand corner have a grey background, which just emphasises them slightly and makes us aware they’re not part of the main page and they will be there no matter which story we click on. So basically, this left hand side bar is our main way of navigation. Navigation toolbars are often found at the top of a webpage, but I think it works well at the side as even when you scroll down you can still see it and are therefore reminded that you have choices, but also if we keep clicking and get ‘lost’ in a sense, we know by clicking on this we will be brought back to a more main, ‘central’ part of the site. What does anyone else think about the importance of navigation tools?
The website is striking and sophisticated, even though there is a lot of information, it’s all clear and our eyes are still drawn to the top stories.
The company’s corporate identity is clear and reflects the colour scheme and fonts, etc of the television channel. This is very important so that our brains can associate one with the other and make the connection whether it’s a subconscious one or not.
The background is white which looks professional and neutral as white is not going to exclude any part of society. The dominant colours are white, red and black. These 3 work well with eachother and everything can be read clearly. The hyperlinks along the left hand corner have a grey background, which just emphasises them slightly and makes us aware they’re not part of the main page and they will be there no matter which story we click on. So basically, this left hand side bar is our main way of navigation. Navigation toolbars are often found at the top of a webpage, but I think it works well at the side as even when you scroll down you can still see it and are therefore reminded that you have choices, but also if we keep clicking and get ‘lost’ in a sense, we know by clicking on this we will be brought back to a more main, ‘central’ part of the site. What does anyone else think about the importance of navigation tools?
Website Analysis 3 - Layout
The less important details tend to be placed towards the bottom of the page. As you scroll down, the appearance tends to become more casual and less serious. I say this because there is a lot less red and the layout is much more haphazard than the strict structured headlines at the top. I think this mimics a real life newspaper where written news stories can be found. All the important stories/issues tend to be at the front of a paper and as you flick through things tend to get less serious. Did anyone else notice this?
. There are no adverts towards the bottom of the page, I reckon this is because chances are a lot of people won’t scroll down as what they want will most likely be at the top of the page and what’s the point in advertising if no-one is going to see it automatically?
I think in today’s society, there are not many young people really interested in the happenings in the world around them, but for young people like myself I believe Sky News and their website are useful as everything is clear and even if we can’t be bothered going on to read all the articles, even just by clicking on to the homepage once in a while we can at least be aware of what’s happening in the world and maybe if we keep seeing the same story, take an interest in it and follow it. I know I’m like that, although I do like to know what’s happening, there will only be one main story every once in a while I’ll take an active interest in and follow right until the end.
. There are no adverts towards the bottom of the page, I reckon this is because chances are a lot of people won’t scroll down as what they want will most likely be at the top of the page and what’s the point in advertising if no-one is going to see it automatically?
I think in today’s society, there are not many young people really interested in the happenings in the world around them, but for young people like myself I believe Sky News and their website are useful as everything is clear and even if we can’t be bothered going on to read all the articles, even just by clicking on to the homepage once in a while we can at least be aware of what’s happening in the world and maybe if we keep seeing the same story, take an interest in it and follow it. I know I’m like that, although I do like to know what’s happening, there will only be one main story every once in a while I’ll take an active interest in and follow right until the end.
Website Analysis 4 - 'Produsers'
There is a link along the side to ‘Blogs’ and ‘Discussions’ which suggest website visitors are encouraged to participate and interact.
As well as these there is a link to ‘Your Photos’ where people send in their own pictures of any news stories or incidents they have witnessed. These feature things such as ‘UK Floods’ and ‘Camden Fire’. These are interesting to look at, as although a lot of them are low quality, they’ve usually been taken before news crews and photographers have got the chance to arrive at the scene, so they feel pretty real and we know they won’t have been edited or anything. I think this is a really good idea. I reckon if I witnessed anything important and had taken some decent pictures I would consider sending them in. What does anyone else think?
This is where Axel Bruns term ‘produsers’ comes in. This refers to people who are ‘consuming’ the website (ie. reading it and accessing it) but also ‘contributing’ to it (by adding pictures and contributing to forums, etc). It highlights the impact of interactivity and how new media makes it more possible. People could always contribute to ‘old’ media such as newspapers by letters and sending photographs or whatever but contributing online makes things easier especially as most letters and photographs will now take a digital form, the ease of contributing to websites is overwhelming.
As well as these there is a link to ‘Your Photos’ where people send in their own pictures of any news stories or incidents they have witnessed. These feature things such as ‘UK Floods’ and ‘Camden Fire’. These are interesting to look at, as although a lot of them are low quality, they’ve usually been taken before news crews and photographers have got the chance to arrive at the scene, so they feel pretty real and we know they won’t have been edited or anything. I think this is a really good idea. I reckon if I witnessed anything important and had taken some decent pictures I would consider sending them in. What does anyone else think?
This is where Axel Bruns term ‘produsers’ comes in. This refers to people who are ‘consuming’ the website (ie. reading it and accessing it) but also ‘contributing’ to it (by adding pictures and contributing to forums, etc). It highlights the impact of interactivity and how new media makes it more possible. People could always contribute to ‘old’ media such as newspapers by letters and sending photographs or whatever but contributing online makes things easier especially as most letters and photographs will now take a digital form, the ease of contributing to websites is overwhelming.
Website Analysis 5 - Hypertext
The term ‘hypertext’ was coined by Ted Nelson in the 60’s. It is basically the idea that users don’t just have one option; there are many routes for them to take and create their own experience by choosing what they read themselves. Hypertext takes a non-linear approach. On the internet this refers to the various choices of alternate links we have the choice to click on to embark on our own personal cyber journey which may or may not ever be repeated exactly by other users, or even ourselves.
Personally, I know I have a set route when I look at this website. I first glance over all the top stories and perhaps read one or two of the main ones which I’ve been following or am just interested in. Then I will go to the ‘Strange News’ section as there’s usually something funny (and random!) on there. Then I will navigate to the Sky Showbiz section and have a browse there. This is my main journey, but all it takes is for me to see one hyperlink to a headline that sounds interesting and my journey is already altered.
When you connect to the homepage, there will be one top story which is given the most room and the biggest picture. There is only a snippet of information provided. To read the rest of the report, you have to click on the hyperlink entitled ‘More…’ and written in bold.
There are also hyperlinks to all the rest of the top stories with pictures attached to make it more appealing and likely that the viewer will click on and create their own experience of the website by making their own choices of where to go.
Hypertext on the homepage also includes links to pictures, videos, podcasts, all the different news sections (such as ‘Health’, ‘Weather’, ‘World News’) as well as hyperlinks to the Sky Sports website and Sky Showbiz.
In May 2007, after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann there was a hyperlink in the left hand navigation bar entitled ‘Madeleine’ to cope with the interest in the story and accommodate the volume of articles about the story. However, since about Sept/Oct and the decrease in media interest in the story, Sky News have removed this section. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I think it’s sad to see it disappear as it feels like they’ve given up hope on the story….so maybe they should have never created the link in the first place?
Personally, I know I have a set route when I look at this website. I first glance over all the top stories and perhaps read one or two of the main ones which I’ve been following or am just interested in. Then I will go to the ‘Strange News’ section as there’s usually something funny (and random!) on there. Then I will navigate to the Sky Showbiz section and have a browse there. This is my main journey, but all it takes is for me to see one hyperlink to a headline that sounds interesting and my journey is already altered.
When you connect to the homepage, there will be one top story which is given the most room and the biggest picture. There is only a snippet of information provided. To read the rest of the report, you have to click on the hyperlink entitled ‘More…’ and written in bold.
There are also hyperlinks to all the rest of the top stories with pictures attached to make it more appealing and likely that the viewer will click on and create their own experience of the website by making their own choices of where to go.
Hypertext on the homepage also includes links to pictures, videos, podcasts, all the different news sections (such as ‘Health’, ‘Weather’, ‘World News’) as well as hyperlinks to the Sky Sports website and Sky Showbiz.
In May 2007, after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann there was a hyperlink in the left hand navigation bar entitled ‘Madeleine’ to cope with the interest in the story and accommodate the volume of articles about the story. However, since about Sept/Oct and the decrease in media interest in the story, Sky News have removed this section. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I think it’s sad to see it disappear as it feels like they’ve given up hope on the story….so maybe they should have never created the link in the first place?
Website Analysis 6 - Meikle and Interactivity
Meikle’s idea of ‘Conversational Interactivity’ could be applied to the blogs and forums as users are able to interact as well as contribute, thus resulting in two way communication which he believes is essential for interactivity to occur.
His idea of ‘Consultational Interactivity’ could be applied to the left hand navigation tool bar hyperlinks where we can choose where we click, etc but can’t necessarily edit it, the way we can edit blogs or forums by uploading our own views.
His idea of ‘Consultational Interactivity’ could be applied to the left hand navigation tool bar hyperlinks where we can choose where we click, etc but can’t necessarily edit it, the way we can edit blogs or forums by uploading our own views.
Website Analysis 7 - Blogs
The link to most of the blogs is http://skynews9.typepad.com/
This one - http://skynews9.typepad.com/my_blog/2008/02/quake-uk---your.html - refers to Tuesday night’s earthquake…which I’m sure we all remember! We can see it has sparked a lot of interest as it is something people want to talk about and share their experiences of. Something like this I guess creates a sense of ‘community’ as it is an experience shared by most of the people who have contributed their thoughts. I think for something to be a community there must be a shared something….shared location, experience, values, etc. I think on the blogs on Sky News in general there isn’t really a sense of an online community but in each individual blog where the discussion has really kicked off, there is more of a sense of community and togetherness. Did anyone else read any and did anyone else find this?
I also found an interesting blog considering we’re talking about new media, the post only has one comment which isn’t very good, but I though it was relevant to this unit. The link is - http://skynews9.typepad.com/my_blog/2008/02/farewell-to-the.html and it is supposed to be discussing ‘the end of an era’ of how we don’t use Polaroids anymore. To us this could be classified as an ‘old media’ and out digital cameras are the ‘new media’. But are they? Or are they ‘new’ or just a development of the ‘old’ forms?
These blogs also include ‘House Rules’ - http://skynews9.typepad.com/my_blog/2007/04/house_rules.html#comments – which tell the users that comments will be moderated before they are posted. I believe this would eliminate any chances of ‘flaming’. I think it would look bad for a company such as Sky News to have people ‘flaming’ eachother as it doesn’t look very professional and decreases it’s academic credibility.
This one - http://skynews9.typepad.com/my_blog/2008/02/quake-uk---your.html - refers to Tuesday night’s earthquake…which I’m sure we all remember! We can see it has sparked a lot of interest as it is something people want to talk about and share their experiences of. Something like this I guess creates a sense of ‘community’ as it is an experience shared by most of the people who have contributed their thoughts. I think for something to be a community there must be a shared something….shared location, experience, values, etc. I think on the blogs on Sky News in general there isn’t really a sense of an online community but in each individual blog where the discussion has really kicked off, there is more of a sense of community and togetherness. Did anyone else read any and did anyone else find this?
I also found an interesting blog considering we’re talking about new media, the post only has one comment which isn’t very good, but I though it was relevant to this unit. The link is - http://skynews9.typepad.com/my_blog/2008/02/farewell-to-the.html and it is supposed to be discussing ‘the end of an era’ of how we don’t use Polaroids anymore. To us this could be classified as an ‘old media’ and out digital cameras are the ‘new media’. But are they? Or are they ‘new’ or just a development of the ‘old’ forms?
These blogs also include ‘House Rules’ - http://skynews9.typepad.com/my_blog/2007/04/house_rules.html#comments – which tell the users that comments will be moderated before they are posted. I believe this would eliminate any chances of ‘flaming’. I think it would look bad for a company such as Sky News to have people ‘flaming’ eachother as it doesn’t look very professional and decreases it’s academic credibility.
Website Analysis 8 - Forums
To contribute to the forums, ‘produsers’ need to be members and sign in. However, non members can still read the forums.
The forum I have chosen to look at is to do with Madeleine McCann which will emphasise the media interest in the case I mentioned before. The link is http://messageboards.sky.com/ThreadView.aspx?ThreadId=3730
Surprisingly I found people posted longer comments and responses on the forum than on the blogs. I personally would have thought blogs would generate more thoughtful, lenghty repsonses and that forums would be more conversational with short thoughts, ideas and responses. Would anyone else have thought this to be the case?
I also found the forums to be more emotive than the blogs and there was even more a sense of community as a lot of the posts are from the same people and it was created in August 2007. So I get the sense a lot of these people were very interested in the Madeleine story and have got just as involved in the forums and built up online relationships from discussing the story for such a long period of time.
The forum I have chosen to look at is to do with Madeleine McCann which will emphasise the media interest in the case I mentioned before. The link is http://messageboards.sky.com/ThreadView.aspx?ThreadId=3730
Surprisingly I found people posted longer comments and responses on the forum than on the blogs. I personally would have thought blogs would generate more thoughtful, lenghty repsonses and that forums would be more conversational with short thoughts, ideas and responses. Would anyone else have thought this to be the case?
I also found the forums to be more emotive than the blogs and there was even more a sense of community as a lot of the posts are from the same people and it was created in August 2007. So I get the sense a lot of these people were very interested in the Madeleine story and have got just as involved in the forums and built up online relationships from discussing the story for such a long period of time.
Website Analysis 9 - Turkle and Online Identity
Professor Sherry Turkle came up with the idea that on the internet people can ‘create’ identities online and play about with ways of presenting themselves than in real life. So, although not posting your full name on a website isn’t the same as pretending to be something you’re not, it still is a form of changing/altering your identity.
On the blogs users could include their name (as some did, but some just had their first name or a nickname, some just chose ‘anonymous’) and/or their location. The majority had their first name and city beside their name.
In the forum it seemed most people had their first name, or their first name slightly altered to appear as a screen name, such as ‘Elizabeth52’.
I reckon if I was involved in the blog or forum I would just have my first name, or if there were other Alyson's, I may copy 'Elizabeth52' and add some numbers to the end. I wouldn't post my full name. What would you call yourself?
On the blogs users could include their name (as some did, but some just had their first name or a nickname, some just chose ‘anonymous’) and/or their location. The majority had their first name and city beside their name.
In the forum it seemed most people had their first name, or their first name slightly altered to appear as a screen name, such as ‘Elizabeth52’.
I reckon if I was involved in the blog or forum I would just have my first name, or if there were other Alyson's, I may copy 'Elizabeth52' and add some numbers to the end. I wouldn't post my full name. What would you call yourself?
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Blogs on Facebook
I'm getting a bit confused having to go through all my comments to link back to my groups blogs and other peoples, so I've put mine as my website address on my Facebook. So if that makes it easier for any1 to comment, or put yours up 2 then that will make it easier 4 me! : D
My Group's Blog Links.....
This is my group and therefore the main people's blogs I've been commenting on.
http://valentine-gobigblue.blogspot.com/
http://laurenadamsblog.blogspot.com/
http://sarahlouise3012.blogspot.com/
http://helenjanerebekah.blogspot.com/
and moi ....... http://alyson-alysbloghoworiginal.blogspot.com/
http://valentine-gobigblue.blogspot.com/
http://laurenadamsblog.blogspot.com/
http://sarahlouise3012.blogspot.com/
http://helenjanerebekah.blogspot.com/
and moi ....... http://alyson-alysbloghoworiginal.blogspot.com/
Week 4 - Task 2 - Music Sharing Online
Filesharing and online downloading cut out the whole physical experience of walking into a shop, picking up a CD and purchasing it as a lot of the time purchase isn't even necessary and it's a file so not really something you could pick up and carry to the check out anyway!
On Myspace, Bebo and Facebook alot of artists/bands have their own profiles or groups and as it is online it is easy to share links with your friends, so if I came across one and liked it I would most likely email the link to friends I also think will like it or tell them to google them. These sort of actions spread so fast online.
However, with filesharing there is the whole issue of the legality of it. Legal online music retailer I-Tunes is one of the leading music retailers out of online sales and music in actual shops. But that doesn't mean there isn't illegal filesharing happening.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2504723.ece - this website says that since 2000 CD sales have fallen by 23% I personally would have expected it to be even more than that. Would anyone else have guessed that figure or woul you think higher/lower?
It also says that surveys suggest 14% of web users till file share for free, I would also have expected ths number to be higher considering the number of people who have like Limewire and similar programs.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3353372.ece - this website discusses some figures which to me seem more like it. It suggests that 8 million people are on file sharing networks at any one time and that there are more than 900 million illegal music files available for download on file-sharing networks. Do these figures surpise anyone? To me, 900 million illegal files sounds like loooooooads!!
It also sounds like loads, when you consider that according to this website (http://www.thecheers.org/news/Americas/news_158_963-people-sued-for-illegal-file-sharing.html) when 963 have been sued for file sharing. That seems like a relatively tiny number compared to 900 million! However, I can't find a date from that article and it doesn't say over ho long it took to catch the 963 people, so it may not be a very reliable source.
On Myspace, Bebo and Facebook alot of artists/bands have their own profiles or groups and as it is online it is easy to share links with your friends, so if I came across one and liked it I would most likely email the link to friends I also think will like it or tell them to google them. These sort of actions spread so fast online.
However, with filesharing there is the whole issue of the legality of it. Legal online music retailer I-Tunes is one of the leading music retailers out of online sales and music in actual shops. But that doesn't mean there isn't illegal filesharing happening.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2504723.ece - this website says that since 2000 CD sales have fallen by 23% I personally would have expected it to be even more than that. Would anyone else have guessed that figure or woul you think higher/lower?
It also says that surveys suggest 14% of web users till file share for free, I would also have expected ths number to be higher considering the number of people who have like Limewire and similar programs.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3353372.ece - this website discusses some figures which to me seem more like it. It suggests that 8 million people are on file sharing networks at any one time and that there are more than 900 million illegal music files available for download on file-sharing networks. Do these figures surpise anyone? To me, 900 million illegal files sounds like loooooooads!!
It also sounds like loads, when you consider that according to this website (http://www.thecheers.org/news/Americas/news_158_963-people-sued-for-illegal-file-sharing.html) when 963 have been sued for file sharing. That seems like a relatively tiny number compared to 900 million! However, I can't find a date from that article and it doesn't say over ho long it took to catch the 963 people, so it may not be a very reliable source.
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Week 4 - Task 1 - Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites I have used are:
http://www.facebook.com/
http://www.myspace.com/
http://www.bebo.com/
So, which out of these has anyone used? because I would think Facebook has become the most used and the most popular whereas a few years ago myspace was kinda the 1 2 have....except in Northern Ireland where EVERYONE used bebo lol!! Think i've only come across a handful of u over here who hav an account.
Ive found that everyones myspace accounts seem to get hacked quite often whereas not so much with Bebo or Facebook...has anyone come across hacking on either of these?
Myspace is probably the 1 that users can personalise most, bebo next and facebook last. Because although with Facebook you can add loads and loads of applications and photos and stuff to your profile u cant like really decorate the background and stuff.
This article from an Irish newspaper is quite interesting about the dangers of social networking sites and how people can pretend to be something they're not and people can put their identity at risk of fraud, etc by posting their contact details.
http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3523&Itemid=38
It mainly focuses on Bebo though.
The article also focuses on the issue of cyber bullying. Personally I have never experienced this, has any1 else or know of any1 who has? I can c how it can happen when people have pretty weak privacy settings or accept people they don't know.
http://www.facebook.com/
http://www.myspace.com/
http://www.bebo.com/
So, which out of these has anyone used? because I would think Facebook has become the most used and the most popular whereas a few years ago myspace was kinda the 1 2 have....except in Northern Ireland where EVERYONE used bebo lol!! Think i've only come across a handful of u over here who hav an account.
Ive found that everyones myspace accounts seem to get hacked quite often whereas not so much with Bebo or Facebook...has anyone come across hacking on either of these?
Myspace is probably the 1 that users can personalise most, bebo next and facebook last. Because although with Facebook you can add loads and loads of applications and photos and stuff to your profile u cant like really decorate the background and stuff.
This article from an Irish newspaper is quite interesting about the dangers of social networking sites and how people can pretend to be something they're not and people can put their identity at risk of fraud, etc by posting their contact details.
http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3523&Itemid=38
It mainly focuses on Bebo though.
The article also focuses on the issue of cyber bullying. Personally I have never experienced this, has any1 else or know of any1 who has? I can c how it can happen when people have pretty weak privacy settings or accept people they don't know.
Monday, 11 February 2008
Week 3 - Online Identity
Found an interesting article online - http://www.socialtimes.com/2008/02/is-my-digital-identity-more-important-than-my-physical-identity/
La Faunce just basically compares his physical identity to his digital identity and how he is portrayed online.
La Faunce just basically compares his physical identity to his digital identity and how he is portrayed online.
Week 3 - Task 2 - Forums
I chose the forums of Heat magazine.
The title of this thread is 'When did Heat get so awful?'
The link is http://www.heatworld.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=196475
The person who posted it has only posted 2 posts and therefore is a reasonably new forum user (well on this website anyway). She speaks in points and therefore isn't really how you would speak in real life. The very 1st prely is a form of flaming in a way as she is rather rude! this girl, who its says has posted a lot on heatworld simply replies with 'er 4 words stop buyin it duh!'.
The girls then post a few bitchy comments aimed at eachother. I think that this shows online interaction decreases respect for eachother. For example, you wouldn't speak to some1 in this way in real life if u had met them, but online there are no implications and therefore people don't really care. I don't think this is right, everyone is entitled to their opinion and it should be respected by others. Forums are not thee to slag everyone and their opinions off but to discuss and try to understand other points of view.
In this particular blog people seem to be getting extremely exasperated with eachother and does that therefore suggest that opinions are not portrayed accurately on line? And is it only possible to understand/accept what some1 is saying when it is in face to face context, or at least via telephone when a voice can be heard?
I think that at the end of the day, if people feel strongly enough about a topic to want to discuss it on a public forum with strangers, all users must be prepared to take on eachother's points of view and try to broaden their opinions or try to udnerstand others.
The title of this thread is 'When did Heat get so awful?'
The link is http://www.heatworld.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=196475
The person who posted it has only posted 2 posts and therefore is a reasonably new forum user (well on this website anyway). She speaks in points and therefore isn't really how you would speak in real life. The very 1st prely is a form of flaming in a way as she is rather rude! this girl, who its says has posted a lot on heatworld simply replies with 'er 4 words stop buyin it duh!'.
The girls then post a few bitchy comments aimed at eachother. I think that this shows online interaction decreases respect for eachother. For example, you wouldn't speak to some1 in this way in real life if u had met them, but online there are no implications and therefore people don't really care. I don't think this is right, everyone is entitled to their opinion and it should be respected by others. Forums are not thee to slag everyone and their opinions off but to discuss and try to understand other points of view.
In this particular blog people seem to be getting extremely exasperated with eachother and does that therefore suggest that opinions are not portrayed accurately on line? And is it only possible to understand/accept what some1 is saying when it is in face to face context, or at least via telephone when a voice can be heard?
I think that at the end of the day, if people feel strongly enough about a topic to want to discuss it on a public forum with strangers, all users must be prepared to take on eachother's points of view and try to broaden their opinions or try to udnerstand others.
Week 3 - Task 2 - Second Life
Second Life is like a virtual community, where people sign up, create an account and become 'residents'. They can interact with other users. The appeal of this is users do not know eachother in real life and therefore can develop an online persona and perhaps do/say things or act how they wouldn't in real life.
In this virtual world, 'resident's can build their own houses and what they look like, i guess this is kind of like the PC game The Sims where the user is in comtrol of their character's actions and interactions with other characters.
An sppeal of Second Life is it is exactly what the users make it for themselves whereas in real life there are more constraints on how people may behave.
According to the website, 60% of users are male and 40% are female. I reckon Second Life is the type of things people could become partially addicted to and become to prefer it to real lfie as they may prefer their online persona and their online relationships. I personally think this is a very unhealthy way to be living. Online interaction can't be the same as real life and I believe people who use sites like this all the time may become reclusive and socially rejected as they are not used to interacting face to face.
I have never used Second Life and I don't think I know anyone who does use it. I think it may just be an excuse for people who aren't very social or dont have many friends in real life to try and feel better about themselves. That is, however, just my opinion. If anyone disagrees or is a resident of Second Life then I would be interested to hear why people would become residents and the advantages of being one.
In this virtual world, 'resident's can build their own houses and what they look like, i guess this is kind of like the PC game The Sims where the user is in comtrol of their character's actions and interactions with other characters.
An sppeal of Second Life is it is exactly what the users make it for themselves whereas in real life there are more constraints on how people may behave.
According to the website, 60% of users are male and 40% are female. I reckon Second Life is the type of things people could become partially addicted to and become to prefer it to real lfie as they may prefer their online persona and their online relationships. I personally think this is a very unhealthy way to be living. Online interaction can't be the same as real life and I believe people who use sites like this all the time may become reclusive and socially rejected as they are not used to interacting face to face.
I have never used Second Life and I don't think I know anyone who does use it. I think it may just be an excuse for people who aren't very social or dont have many friends in real life to try and feel better about themselves. That is, however, just my opinion. If anyone disagrees or is a resident of Second Life then I would be interested to hear why people would become residents and the advantages of being one.
Week 3 - Task 1 - Identity
I think online identity is a personal thing. For example, sometimes when u have to register to go on a website, I don't see any need why they should have all your full details. Like, if there is no payment involved or whatever I don't usually give my full name or details as there is no need for them to have them.
However, I don't see why people should create complete different identities of themselves and pretend to be people they're not on the internet.
If a person is completely different online then whatever relationships they form online aren't real as they aren't themeslves.
I have no online relationships, except with those I know in real life who are also friends on Facebook or MSN Messenger.
If you are being a 'fake' u to others online, then chances are they aren't who they say they are and therefore the friendship is built on falseness and therefore cannot be real.
Does anyone have any online friends taht they don't know in real life? And if o, are you completely yourselves to them? or is it tempting to try and be somehting you're not ebcause they'l never find out??
However, I don't see why people should create complete different identities of themselves and pretend to be people they're not on the internet.
If a person is completely different online then whatever relationships they form online aren't real as they aren't themeslves.
I have no online relationships, except with those I know in real life who are also friends on Facebook or MSN Messenger.
If you are being a 'fake' u to others online, then chances are they aren't who they say they are and therefore the friendship is built on falseness and therefore cannot be real.
Does anyone have any online friends taht they don't know in real life? And if o, are you completely yourselves to them? or is it tempting to try and be somehting you're not ebcause they'l never find out??
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Articles on new media.....
These are just some websites I've come across discussing new media and it's effects etc.....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/20/MNGJVPCGI51.DTL - differences of new and traditional media in terms of news stories
http://whatsnewmedia.org/2008/01/30/a-question-for-you-whats-new-about-new-media/#comments - this 1 is a blog but some of the comments are interesting and generally similar to what alot of us have been posting about
http://mashable.com/2007/12/23/old-media-vs-new-media/ - discusses and compares forms of old and new media
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/20/MNGJVPCGI51.DTL - differences of new and traditional media in terms of news stories
http://whatsnewmedia.org/2008/01/30/a-question-for-you-whats-new-about-new-media/#comments - this 1 is a blog but some of the comments are interesting and generally similar to what alot of us have been posting about
http://mashable.com/2007/12/23/old-media-vs-new-media/ - discusses and compares forms of old and new media
Meikle
Meikle believes that even though most websites can be interactive many still deal mainly with one sided issues such as promotion, persuasion and propoganda.
Meikle identifies four different levels of interactivity:
1. transmissional interactivity - the fact that users make choices about what sites they visit online and any subscriptions or alerts they may sign up for.
2. registrational interactivity - tracks online user information (logs of online activity)
3. consultational interactivity - by clicking on hyper links, we are taken to web pages with the information we expected to find from the name of the hyperlink but the information can not bechanged by users
4. conversational interactivity - allows a two way flow of communication as users are able to interact and each submitting information. Meikle believes that a website must have two way input for it to be classified as interactive. He also thinks this conversational interactivity is the only form of interactivity that is open to democracy.
Meikle identifies four different levels of interactivity:
1. transmissional interactivity - the fact that users make choices about what sites they visit online and any subscriptions or alerts they may sign up for.
2. registrational interactivity - tracks online user information (logs of online activity)
3. consultational interactivity - by clicking on hyper links, we are taken to web pages with the information we expected to find from the name of the hyperlink but the information can not bechanged by users
4. conversational interactivity - allows a two way flow of communication as users are able to interact and each submitting information. Meikle believes that a website must have two way input for it to be classified as interactive. He also thinks this conversational interactivity is the only form of interactivity that is open to democracy.
Week 2 - Task 2
This blog is a way of researching new media cultures and making notes (via posts) on any thoughts I have on the subject.
These are to be read by fellow students and our tutor. So in effect, people who will have done the same reading and research as myself. The blog allows us to remark on eachothers posts and discuss/debate topics raised. This allows us to see eachothers point of views.
Within this blog, I don't really feel part of a global blogging community, as it is really just an MCC micro blogging community.
In terms of posting the closest offline genre I thnk would just be physically making notes and noting thoughts. But by replying to and discussing topics with eachother, is really just conversational and is how if we were in a real life seminar we would respond.
These are to be read by fellow students and our tutor. So in effect, people who will have done the same reading and research as myself. The blog allows us to remark on eachothers posts and discuss/debate topics raised. This allows us to see eachothers point of views.
Within this blog, I don't really feel part of a global blogging community, as it is really just an MCC micro blogging community.
In terms of posting the closest offline genre I thnk would just be physically making notes and noting thoughts. But by replying to and discussing topics with eachother, is really just conversational and is how if we were in a real life seminar we would respond.
Friday, 8 February 2008
Week 2 - Task 1
Firstly blogging is different to real life seminars as it is unlikely all the students will be online at the same time and therefore any replies or remarks on eachothers blogs may not be read or replied to at that time, or even on the same day.
In seminars, there is always a teacher who leads the converstion/debate and even ensures r attendance to a certain degree. In r blogs, it's up to ourselves to make sure we contribute and keep our blogs up to date. This means we're all kind of equal. But in terms of our own blog we're in a way acting like the tutor as we are conducting the conversation and expecting responses/debate from other students.
With blogging, it means we can just post when we feel like we have thought about the tasks enough, rather than jus posting a lot of rubbish because we feel like we have to. Like in seminars sometimes when no one else speaks we find ourselves answering or speaking just to stop the silence even when what we have to say isn't completely relevant or the best answer we could think of. It is the same with replying to other peoples posts, you don''t necessarily have to answer straight away, you can go away and think about it and develop your opinion before replying. I like this, as sometimes when we're asked stuff in seminars we just say what comes straight in to our heads then later on think of something that would have been a much better response.
In real life seminars everyone tends to sit with their friends as well, whereas with blogs it makes it easier to communicate with eachother and find out what eachother thinks of certain things and their opinions on people's work. I also think this is good as because it is not face to face it is easier to disagree with eachother or form an opposing opinion. In real seminars sometimes we don't speak out as it seems easier just to agree with eachother, especially if it's someone we don't know very well.
In real life seminars it's possible to sit and get away with saying nothing, but it's also possible for 1 student to do all the talking and debating with the tutor. Online, we all have to say something because if we didn't our empty blogs would reflect the fact that we've done no work. But also one person can't manipulate and take over a whole blog.
As far as identity goes we all know eachother and we understand how eachother communicate. Especially with our close friends, we know how they'll explain stuff. Speaking in a conversational way on r blogs is also better with r close friends and people we know well as we know their speech style and can hear them in our heads explaining it. This can be helpful, rather than reading some1s blog who you don;t know that well and don't really know how they speak.
In seminars, there is always a teacher who leads the converstion/debate and even ensures r attendance to a certain degree. In r blogs, it's up to ourselves to make sure we contribute and keep our blogs up to date. This means we're all kind of equal. But in terms of our own blog we're in a way acting like the tutor as we are conducting the conversation and expecting responses/debate from other students.
With blogging, it means we can just post when we feel like we have thought about the tasks enough, rather than jus posting a lot of rubbish because we feel like we have to. Like in seminars sometimes when no one else speaks we find ourselves answering or speaking just to stop the silence even when what we have to say isn't completely relevant or the best answer we could think of. It is the same with replying to other peoples posts, you don''t necessarily have to answer straight away, you can go away and think about it and develop your opinion before replying. I like this, as sometimes when we're asked stuff in seminars we just say what comes straight in to our heads then later on think of something that would have been a much better response.
In real life seminars everyone tends to sit with their friends as well, whereas with blogs it makes it easier to communicate with eachother and find out what eachother thinks of certain things and their opinions on people's work. I also think this is good as because it is not face to face it is easier to disagree with eachother or form an opposing opinion. In real seminars sometimes we don't speak out as it seems easier just to agree with eachother, especially if it's someone we don't know very well.
In real life seminars it's possible to sit and get away with saying nothing, but it's also possible for 1 student to do all the talking and debating with the tutor. Online, we all have to say something because if we didn't our empty blogs would reflect the fact that we've done no work. But also one person can't manipulate and take over a whole blog.
As far as identity goes we all know eachother and we understand how eachother communicate. Especially with our close friends, we know how they'll explain stuff. Speaking in a conversational way on r blogs is also better with r close friends and people we know well as we know their speech style and can hear them in our heads explaining it. This can be helpful, rather than reading some1s blog who you don;t know that well and don't really know how they speak.
Peter Lunenfeld
Just researched him and his ideas on the internet and thought I'd blog about it....
Lunenfeld's background is in film and television and media studies.
Lunenfeld doesn't believe there is such a thing as single media culture anymore, in fact he sees as facets of cultural production as kinds of "ferocious pluralism".
He believes that although we do not attempt to be popular culture we engage with popular culture in all it's forms.
Lunenfeld believes "there is no end to the ways in which meaningful culture is more meaningful than mindless production, no matter how participatory".
He believes different medias have different cultures and for the past 50 years or so western culture has been defined by the television. He recognises the changes in media, for example the computer having more potential than a television ever could, vinyls being replaced by CD's and VHS by DVD.
He refers to computers as 'culture machines' as they lead to a previously unimaginable level of informations.
Lunenfeld's background is in film and television and media studies.
Lunenfeld doesn't believe there is such a thing as single media culture anymore, in fact he sees as facets of cultural production as kinds of "ferocious pluralism".
He believes that although we do not attempt to be popular culture we engage with popular culture in all it's forms.
Lunenfeld believes "there is no end to the ways in which meaningful culture is more meaningful than mindless production, no matter how participatory".
He believes different medias have different cultures and for the past 50 years or so western culture has been defined by the television. He recognises the changes in media, for example the computer having more potential than a television ever could, vinyls being replaced by CD's and VHS by DVD.
He refers to computers as 'culture machines' as they lead to a previously unimaginable level of informations.
Just how popular is the internet?
I though I would just do abit of research about the internet....on the internet to see if I could find figures etc determining how and when the internet is most used. Some of the things I found were:
- British adults now spend more time surfing the net than watching television, a survery found the average Briton spends 41.5 days a year on the internet compared to 37.5 days a year watching television. I think this reflects the changes in technology over the past few years.
- Men spend an average 172 minutes surfing the net compared to women, at just 156 minutes a day.
- In Britain, at least 24 million people have access to home internet.
- In Britain, people in London are most likely to spend te most time on the internet.
- Email is the most popular activity on the internet, with over 90% of internet users being active emailers.
- Only about 1/3 of internet users participate in online gaming.
- Asia has the largest percentage of internet users (38.7%) followed by Europe with 26.4%
- Between 2000 and 2007 the middle east and Africa hav seen the largest increase in internet users.
- British adults now spend more time surfing the net than watching television, a survery found the average Briton spends 41.5 days a year on the internet compared to 37.5 days a year watching television. I think this reflects the changes in technology over the past few years.
- Men spend an average 172 minutes surfing the net compared to women, at just 156 minutes a day.
- In Britain, at least 24 million people have access to home internet.
- In Britain, people in London are most likely to spend te most time on the internet.
- Email is the most popular activity on the internet, with over 90% of internet users being active emailers.
- Only about 1/3 of internet users participate in online gaming.
- Asia has the largest percentage of internet users (38.7%) followed by Europe with 26.4%
- Between 2000 and 2007 the middle east and Africa hav seen the largest increase in internet users.
Monday, 4 February 2008
Week 1 - Task 2 - b
One of the main advantages of the internet is the ability to connect people from everywhere. For example webpages from America are just accessible in Ireland as they are in America.
It provides instant access to a number of things - social networks, email, businesses, information, news, shopping, booking/arranging things, gaming, entertainment etc.
These are all positive things, however it can also lead to bad things - identity theft, viruses, hackers, illegal downloads.
The dangers are especially valid for children who perhaps enter chatrooms and come across individuals who pose as younger, etc. For example, when children go missing one of the first things checked may be have they had access to a computer or chat rooms and would they have gone to meet an online 'friend'. I remember the Soham murders of Holly & Jessica, when it was discovered they had been on the internet the day they went missing, at first it was assumed they'd perhaps gone to meet up with someone they had met online. Even though, in this instance that was not the case it shows just how easily it could have been.
Some of the articles I read while researching this task were:
http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/comment/2148185/internet-bad-discuss
http://www.theta.com/goodman/goodbad.htm
http://www.takingitglobal.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=6336
http://www.designnine.com/news/node/226
It provides instant access to a number of things - social networks, email, businesses, information, news, shopping, booking/arranging things, gaming, entertainment etc.
These are all positive things, however it can also lead to bad things - identity theft, viruses, hackers, illegal downloads.
The dangers are especially valid for children who perhaps enter chatrooms and come across individuals who pose as younger, etc. For example, when children go missing one of the first things checked may be have they had access to a computer or chat rooms and would they have gone to meet an online 'friend'. I remember the Soham murders of Holly & Jessica, when it was discovered they had been on the internet the day they went missing, at first it was assumed they'd perhaps gone to meet up with someone they had met online. Even though, in this instance that was not the case it shows just how easily it could have been.
Some of the articles I read while researching this task were:
http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/comment/2148185/internet-bad-discuss
http://www.theta.com/goodman/goodbad.htm
http://www.takingitglobal.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=6336
http://www.designnine.com/news/node/226
Week 1 - Task 2 - a
New media is hard to define, especially when we have been brought up in era when technology has been constantly evolving and developing faster than ever before.
For example, the speech given by Goebbels in 1933 suggests that he views radio as relatively new media whereas to me I would class radio as an 'old' medium. But this may be just because I have always grown up with television, and not only television but colour television and VCR, our generation has even seen the development of DVD.
I think we could make comparisons like that:
OLD MEDIA..........NEW MEDIA
Black&white................ TV Colour TV
Cassette tapes............. CD's and later MP3's
Video cassettes........... DVD
Video recorders.......... Sky Plus
Telephone sets............ Wireless phones and mobiles
Handwritten letters... Emails
But a lot of these are just developments in each other, so is new media jus improved old media?? Or is it something completely different??
For example, what's the 'old' equivelant of something like MSN Messenger....is it a phone call? a letter? or just a face to face visit?
Lister suggests that sometimes the term new media is used to describe technologies that don't even exist yet and just something that will be formed in the future.
In which case new media is impossible to define becuase we have no idea what will be possible in the future and it's impossible for us to imagine or comprehend as if we could, it would exist by now. Like, when our parents were young they would have never been able to imagine or comprehend a telephone with colour digital screens that fit in r pocket and can write and send text. Let alone, a device that hold hundreds of megabites of music, videos and photos, whereas to us most young people own a ipod or some form of MP3 player.
I think attitudes with this type of thing have also chnaged drastically. I would imagine that say in the 40's or 50's it wouldn't be very common for a child or young folk to even be frequend users of a telephone and now children as young as like 5 have mobiles!!! I also can't ever imagine people in this era using the telephone while at the dinner table or with family, whereas today it's more socially acceptable to take a call when in company (depending on the company or the formality of the situation) and with text messages and email features on phones it's easy to communicate with people not present without completely ignoring everyone who is in your company.
I don't believe that Goebbel's opinion of radio is completely true today, while it is still true that radio is an effective way to communicate to the masses, I do believe that television and especially the internet have overtaken it.
For example, the speech given by Goebbels in 1933 suggests that he views radio as relatively new media whereas to me I would class radio as an 'old' medium. But this may be just because I have always grown up with television, and not only television but colour television and VCR, our generation has even seen the development of DVD.
I think we could make comparisons like that:
OLD MEDIA..........NEW MEDIA
Black&white................ TV Colour TV
Cassette tapes............. CD's and later MP3's
Video cassettes........... DVD
Video recorders.......... Sky Plus
Telephone sets............ Wireless phones and mobiles
Handwritten letters... Emails
But a lot of these are just developments in each other, so is new media jus improved old media?? Or is it something completely different??
For example, what's the 'old' equivelant of something like MSN Messenger....is it a phone call? a letter? or just a face to face visit?
Lister suggests that sometimes the term new media is used to describe technologies that don't even exist yet and just something that will be formed in the future.
In which case new media is impossible to define becuase we have no idea what will be possible in the future and it's impossible for us to imagine or comprehend as if we could, it would exist by now. Like, when our parents were young they would have never been able to imagine or comprehend a telephone with colour digital screens that fit in r pocket and can write and send text. Let alone, a device that hold hundreds of megabites of music, videos and photos, whereas to us most young people own a ipod or some form of MP3 player.
I think attitudes with this type of thing have also chnaged drastically. I would imagine that say in the 40's or 50's it wouldn't be very common for a child or young folk to even be frequend users of a telephone and now children as young as like 5 have mobiles!!! I also can't ever imagine people in this era using the telephone while at the dinner table or with family, whereas today it's more socially acceptable to take a call when in company (depending on the company or the formality of the situation) and with text messages and email features on phones it's easy to communicate with people not present without completely ignoring everyone who is in your company.
I don't believe that Goebbel's opinion of radio is completely true today, while it is still true that radio is an effective way to communicate to the masses, I do believe that television and especially the internet have overtaken it.
Week 1 - Task 2 - Goebbel's Speech
Goebbel's Speech
Goebbels suggests radio is for the twentieth century what journalism was for the nineteenth century and if that is true I then suggest that the internet is the radio & journalism equivelant of the twenty-first century.
Goebbel's was interested in a medium that would reach the 'masses' as they wanted to spread the Nazi political policies and recruit from far and wide and to tempt citizens who had lost a significant amount as a result of the great crash and to tempt people out of the slump of the depression with 'work an bread'. (the Nazi's 'arbeit und brot' campaign).
He speaks of "influencing the masses" which the Nazi's succeeded in doing and as a result Hitler came to power. So now, in later years, we know the effect radio was able to have on the masses at this time.
He believed that many just viewed the radio as a medium for entertainment whereas he saw it as an opportunity to portray the Nazi political agenda.
Goebbel's recognises that Hitler and the Nazi's coming to power was mainly due to the radio. "It would not have been possible for us to take power or to use it in the ways we have without the radio and the airplane."
The Nazi's used the radio as an alternative online campaign (as such) such as today's politicians use the internet and websites to spread the message of their campaign. For example Hilary Cinton has a very informative website in her run up to the presidential elections. Her website includes policies, ideas, and even announcements.
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/6287749.stm
Goebbel's suggests that although radio should provide forms of entertainment it shouldn't "harm the intellectual and cultural life of the nation" which is why he felt it should be moderated (controlled) by the government and be strongly linked to political ongoings.
His last paragraph of the speech is strongly infused with Nazi-ism:
"It is our dearest wish that science, industry and the intellectual leadership of German radio from now on will follow a new path, at the end of which stands our common, great goal:
One People, one Reich, one will and a glorious German future!"
By using this at the end of the speech it will stay with the listeners and people will go away with 'Nazi' on the brain and therefore reinforcing what he belived the main aspect of radio was - influence.
Goebbels suggests radio is for the twentieth century what journalism was for the nineteenth century and if that is true I then suggest that the internet is the radio & journalism equivelant of the twenty-first century.
Goebbel's was interested in a medium that would reach the 'masses' as they wanted to spread the Nazi political policies and recruit from far and wide and to tempt citizens who had lost a significant amount as a result of the great crash and to tempt people out of the slump of the depression with 'work an bread'. (the Nazi's 'arbeit und brot' campaign).
He speaks of "influencing the masses" which the Nazi's succeeded in doing and as a result Hitler came to power. So now, in later years, we know the effect radio was able to have on the masses at this time.
He believed that many just viewed the radio as a medium for entertainment whereas he saw it as an opportunity to portray the Nazi political agenda.
Goebbel's recognises that Hitler and the Nazi's coming to power was mainly due to the radio. "It would not have been possible for us to take power or to use it in the ways we have without the radio and the airplane."
The Nazi's used the radio as an alternative online campaign (as such) such as today's politicians use the internet and websites to spread the message of their campaign. For example Hilary Cinton has a very informative website in her run up to the presidential elections. Her website includes policies, ideas, and even announcements.
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/6287749.stm
Goebbel's suggests that although radio should provide forms of entertainment it shouldn't "harm the intellectual and cultural life of the nation" which is why he felt it should be moderated (controlled) by the government and be strongly linked to political ongoings.
His last paragraph of the speech is strongly infused with Nazi-ism:
"It is our dearest wish that science, industry and the intellectual leadership of German radio from now on will follow a new path, at the end of which stands our common, great goal:
One People, one Reich, one will and a glorious German future!"
By using this at the end of the speech it will stay with the listeners and people will go away with 'Nazi' on the brain and therefore reinforcing what he belived the main aspect of radio was - influence.
Saturday, 2 February 2008
Week 1 - Task 1 - a & b
Email and Email Lists
Email is an electronic form of 'letter writing'. The messages sent are sent and received via computers. To access an email account, the user must have an internet connection. As soon as one sends a message it will almost automatically appear in the receiver's inbox. However, the recipant will not have read the message until he/she next signs in to their email account and is notified of the new message. Emails are much simpler than writing letters as there are no costs of paper, envelopes, stamps&postage, etc. They are also much quicker (providing the sender has relatively good keyboard typing skills!) and email accounts save all your addresses so you don't even have to write the name & address on the envelope.
I agree with Lister's evaluation of the email and the specific characteristics stated and how he describes it as having a sense of occasion. Case Study 1.2 states "the arrival of a letter in pre-industrial society was an 'occasion' replete with significance." (Lister et al.; 2003) I believe this to be more true of the older generations.
Email lists allow single email messages to be sent to a large number of recipants at the same time.This can be useful in an office for example, where one colleague can create an email list with all his colleagues email addresses and then when they want to distribute a message to everyone in the office they can just add this email list in the address section.
I use Hotmail for my email account, it was set up by a friend from holiday who I used to write to, but he was alredy connected on email and set me up which made communication much quicker, instant and easier. I like Hotmail as it is free and has large capacity to hold messages and allows access to MSN Messenger. I would mainly use email to communicate with tutors at University with ay queries I may have. I have 2 email accounts - 1 which I use for more important serious things, such as communication with tutors and then 1 which I use when I sign up for things so it mainly recieves a lot of junk and spam mail.
Usenet and Bulletin Board Systems
I have never heard of usenet before this task so to have a basic understanding of it I have had to research on the internet. Main websites I found about it were:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part1/
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part2/
http://www.usenet.org.uk/
http://tldp.org/LDP/nag/node257.html
I am still not entirely sure what this is like, so if I'm wrong, please feel free to reply and tell me so!!!
But from what I've read I believe it is basically like a discussion over the internet where people post and reply to eachother. I think to access Usenet certain software on the computer is necessary even though it itself is not software. I get the impression from reading about it on the web that it is a rather difficult thing to define and some even suggested it ws actually easier just to say what it isn't rather than to try describing what it is.
I have no personal experience of using Usenet and from reading othr people's blogs don't believe it is that popular, and certainly not between people of my age.
Bulletin boards is also a form of communication via the internet. They are mainly used to 'post' information about certain subjects where other users can read and reply to comments. It is a good way of sharing information via the internet, but without being as conversational (in a way?) and personal as something like MSN. The messages left on bulletin boards are public and some charge to become a user.
I have used bulletin boards a couple of times, mainly on the virtual campus where it is easy for tutors to post information about work to be done and any schedule changes etc.
IRL'S Chat Rooms, Messenger Services
Chat rooms are a rather instant way of talking to people via the internet. There are certain chat rooms for certain things but there are also more general 1s. Although tey are a great way to dicuss things, the safety of them has been questioned ans has featured heavily in the news for a number of years. Some of the stories featured include -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11101454/
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1271057,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/726904.stm
These sorts of stories are problems in chat rooms as as Lister suggests that in virtual circumstances "there are opportunities for the user to adopt markers of identity." This is why parents get concerned as they do about the welfare of their children in these enviornments. There is a lotof software for parents to monitor what their kids do on the computer, I personally feel this is like a violation of trust and slightly stalker-ish! what's anyone else's thoughts on this??
I was never allowed to use chat rooms as a child. although I was curious about them so me&my friend did go on couple of times, but there was nothing of interest to us and now I would never have any desire to go on one.
Messenger services such as MSN Messenger allow users to add friends and contacts whose email addresses they know and users can conduct instant free conversations with eachother when connected to the internet. Users decide who they accept to speak tthem and who they can decline, so in that respect it's safer than a chat room as users are in control of who can see them, etc. And any file/photo/webcam sharing can only be activated if accepted by both users.
I always have my MSN signed in when my computer's on, it's great talking to friends at home and at uni without worrying about the costs of phone bills and text messages etc. I have had instances of people I don't know trying to add me, but it's just common sense to not accept people you don't know.
MUDS & MOO's
Again, I had never heard of MUD's or MOO's before this task and therefore have never used either.
Mud stands for multi user dungeon. Mud's are linked with online gaming and characters embark in roleplaying tasks by controling virtual characters. and communicate withother players via text on the internet. I found some info on:
http://www.mudconnect.com/mudfaq/mudfaq-p1.html
A Moo is Mud object orientated. So multiple people can connect in to a virtual world and join in games and connect with other players through text. I found this website:
http://www.moo.mud.org/moo-faq/
.....but it didn't really help much, just thought I'd include it incase anyone wanted a browse.
Websites
Websites include loadsa stuff, like text, information, videos and photos, there are often numerous pages where the user makes choices about where they go and what they choose to look like in the virtual world.
There can be websites set up to represent different businesses, people, celebrities, social networking and even just to give information about certain things.
Everything posted on the internet can be seen publicly by anyone who comes across it.
I have a number of websites that I would check everyday, such as Hotmail, Sky News, Facebook. But if ever I need any information about anything I will search for it on search engines such as Ask Jeeves or Google.
Email is an electronic form of 'letter writing'. The messages sent are sent and received via computers. To access an email account, the user must have an internet connection. As soon as one sends a message it will almost automatically appear in the receiver's inbox. However, the recipant will not have read the message until he/she next signs in to their email account and is notified of the new message. Emails are much simpler than writing letters as there are no costs of paper, envelopes, stamps&postage, etc. They are also much quicker (providing the sender has relatively good keyboard typing skills!) and email accounts save all your addresses so you don't even have to write the name & address on the envelope.
I agree with Lister's evaluation of the email and the specific characteristics stated and how he describes it as having a sense of occasion. Case Study 1.2 states "the arrival of a letter in pre-industrial society was an 'occasion' replete with significance." (Lister et al.; 2003) I believe this to be more true of the older generations.
Email lists allow single email messages to be sent to a large number of recipants at the same time.This can be useful in an office for example, where one colleague can create an email list with all his colleagues email addresses and then when they want to distribute a message to everyone in the office they can just add this email list in the address section.
I use Hotmail for my email account, it was set up by a friend from holiday who I used to write to, but he was alredy connected on email and set me up which made communication much quicker, instant and easier. I like Hotmail as it is free and has large capacity to hold messages and allows access to MSN Messenger. I would mainly use email to communicate with tutors at University with ay queries I may have. I have 2 email accounts - 1 which I use for more important serious things, such as communication with tutors and then 1 which I use when I sign up for things so it mainly recieves a lot of junk and spam mail.
Usenet and Bulletin Board Systems
I have never heard of usenet before this task so to have a basic understanding of it I have had to research on the internet. Main websites I found about it were:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part1/
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part2/
http://www.usenet.org.uk/
http://tldp.org/LDP/nag/node257.html
I am still not entirely sure what this is like, so if I'm wrong, please feel free to reply and tell me so!!!
But from what I've read I believe it is basically like a discussion over the internet where people post and reply to eachother. I think to access Usenet certain software on the computer is necessary even though it itself is not software. I get the impression from reading about it on the web that it is a rather difficult thing to define and some even suggested it ws actually easier just to say what it isn't rather than to try describing what it is.
I have no personal experience of using Usenet and from reading othr people's blogs don't believe it is that popular, and certainly not between people of my age.
Bulletin boards is also a form of communication via the internet. They are mainly used to 'post' information about certain subjects where other users can read and reply to comments. It is a good way of sharing information via the internet, but without being as conversational (in a way?) and personal as something like MSN. The messages left on bulletin boards are public and some charge to become a user.
I have used bulletin boards a couple of times, mainly on the virtual campus where it is easy for tutors to post information about work to be done and any schedule changes etc.
IRL'S Chat Rooms, Messenger Services
Chat rooms are a rather instant way of talking to people via the internet. There are certain chat rooms for certain things but there are also more general 1s. Although tey are a great way to dicuss things, the safety of them has been questioned ans has featured heavily in the news for a number of years. Some of the stories featured include -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11101454/
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1271057,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/726904.stm
These sorts of stories are problems in chat rooms as as Lister suggests that in virtual circumstances "there are opportunities for the user to adopt markers of identity." This is why parents get concerned as they do about the welfare of their children in these enviornments. There is a lotof software for parents to monitor what their kids do on the computer, I personally feel this is like a violation of trust and slightly stalker-ish! what's anyone else's thoughts on this??
I was never allowed to use chat rooms as a child. although I was curious about them so me&my friend did go on couple of times, but there was nothing of interest to us and now I would never have any desire to go on one.
Messenger services such as MSN Messenger allow users to add friends and contacts whose email addresses they know and users can conduct instant free conversations with eachother when connected to the internet. Users decide who they accept to speak tthem and who they can decline, so in that respect it's safer than a chat room as users are in control of who can see them, etc. And any file/photo/webcam sharing can only be activated if accepted by both users.
I always have my MSN signed in when my computer's on, it's great talking to friends at home and at uni without worrying about the costs of phone bills and text messages etc. I have had instances of people I don't know trying to add me, but it's just common sense to not accept people you don't know.
MUDS & MOO's
Again, I had never heard of MUD's or MOO's before this task and therefore have never used either.
Mud stands for multi user dungeon. Mud's are linked with online gaming and characters embark in roleplaying tasks by controling virtual characters. and communicate withother players via text on the internet. I found some info on:
http://www.mudconnect.com/mudfaq/mudfaq-p1.html
A Moo is Mud object orientated. So multiple people can connect in to a virtual world and join in games and connect with other players through text. I found this website:
http://www.moo.mud.org/moo-faq/
.....but it didn't really help much, just thought I'd include it incase anyone wanted a browse.
Websites
Websites include loadsa stuff, like text, information, videos and photos, there are often numerous pages where the user makes choices about where they go and what they choose to look like in the virtual world.
There can be websites set up to represent different businesses, people, celebrities, social networking and even just to give information about certain things.
Everything posted on the internet can be seen publicly by anyone who comes across it.
I have a number of websites that I would check everyday, such as Hotmail, Sky News, Facebook. But if ever I need any information about anything I will search for it on search engines such as Ask Jeeves or Google.
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