Website Analysis Part 5:

Furthermore, signore, each part of the forum and its topic listings had a personalised comment from the creator below them. A room titled Rant, rant, rant particularly caught my eye as rather humorous. The comment below it said to bitch about all things Hollywood, a very human statement to make. Overall I find this site to be extremely user friendly and rather inviting and friendly towards users. It is simply set out, the layout is easy to follow and the information held within it is easily categorised so as to make it as easy as possible on people searching for a specific thing.

I would say this is quite easily one of my favourite websites, and besides facebook this would probably be the one I frequent the most. The Joblo's team writing style and vast archive of news stories are a big draw to me, and the fact that the website does not burden itself with masses of terminology, but at the same time keep a sense of advanced knowledge, is great to read. It is individualised within each article and the writers have a great sense of their audience. Within the forum this is the same, members of the community are all here because of their love for film, and this is reflected wholly in the way the site is written.

Website Analysis Part 4: New media Culture Issues (cont.)

A community of practice defines itself along three dimensions:

• What it is about—its joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members

• How it functions—the relationships of mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity

• What capability it has produced—the shared repertoire of communal resources (routines, sensibilities, artifacts, vocabulary, styles, etc.) that members have developed over time.

(taken from reading section, source unknown)

The Joblo website is a fine example of a community of practice. Each article around the site has a comment section below it, titled The Schmoes Strike Back! allowing the members of this online community to have their say and allow some debate around the points covered in the article. When accessing myjoblo.com, users are required to register via an image verification process. I had to pick the image which was Homer Simpson. This required me to have an already pre-existing knowledge of what such a cultural icon looked like, the first step for me to "prov" myself to this community of practice, proving that I have the knowledge to join their group. To join, I had to create a username, which I chose to be GiveEmHellboy! after my own favourite film. A password and email were given, and then I had to enter some details about myself, such as my favourite film of all time and my favourite film quote of all time to give myself an identity on the site.

It was also required that I gave a reason for wanting to join the community. I chose to say that I wished to join for academic purposes and research. Other information I had to give included where I live, my occupation and my interests. While these were optional, I felt almost inclined to fill them in, as it would give a broader insight into my own personality and interests. After activating my account through an email hyperlink, I was free to roam the forums and look into the various member only aspects of the site.

The forum on this site is structured similarly to the main site. A list of members lets me know who is online right now so if needed to, i can contact fellow members and friends for information on a certain subject or their thoughts on a subject related to the topic of film. It also stated the number of users active and the record high of member active at one time. Very user friendly, the forum is split into categories and further subheadings of the areas where different topics are discussed. Each main "room" was titled I am Jack's... which is a reference to the movie Fight Club, where a character is reading a series of articles related to functions of the human body written in the first person, such as I am jack's spleen. This is again a reference to a film it is assumed all members of the community have seen and remember. The level of dedication to films this site shows is proof enough of its existence as a community of practice. I also received a welcome as the site's newest member, giving me a sense of importance among the other members.

Website Analysis Part 3: New media Culture Issues

On a cultural level, this website is rather interesting. As a movie news website it is immediately categorised under journalism and film, and the coverage that is its output is susceptible to a number of standard rules and legislations. Firstly, the content of an article cannot be seen as slanderous of an actor/actress/director because that would make the website liable for a court case. It cannot be defamatory of a film or person as that would also allow the subject to sue the website for damages. So we must look at how the articles are written to find its full appeal to the user.

"In the chat room, MUD or bulletin board we will often take on a nickname or handle that allows us to participate in the carnival-like masquerade of online identity play." ( Lister et al, New Media Cultures: An Introduction, page 166, section titled Networks and Identity).

Here the nickname is Joblo. On the contact us page, we can see that Joblo is really Berge Garabedian. His interests are listed alongside his position as founder of the site and we get an impression of the kind of person he is from the sort of films he likes. This is only a skin deep image based on first appearances and some hopefully reliable information. But it is within his writing style that we get a feel for what he is really like. In a review of Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, for example, he gives us the outline of the film from his own personal point of view and describes, as any movie critic would, what he likes and dislikes about the film. But, different to many critics, he gives us a sense of his own personal individual account, instead of a shared consensus that the film must instantly be a masterpiece due to the director's track record. We can read that this is an everyday man writing about his passion for a living, and not having to adhere to any codes of practice because of his profession.

"Burton is one of my favorite directors of all-time, and Depp is one of my favorite actors of all-time, and many of their previous collaborations are among my favorite films of all-time, but even all those positive preambles couldn’t get me to wanna stay put in my seat as a young homeless boy started crooning about how much he loved this girl he just saw in a window or when Depp took two minutes to sing “Hello” to his cutting blades. Even Helena Bonham Carter, looking her most Marla Singer-ish, wasn’t able to get me to pop a fanboy woodie for this flick." (http://www.joblo.com/reviews.php?mode=joblo_movies&id=1523) From this quote we can see that his appreciation for the work of the actors and director had no effect on how much he liked the film. His personality comes through in the way he speaks, and how he describes events that have occurred within the film's narrative. "As for the songs themselves? Meh. And yes, even though I’m not a fan of singing dialogue moments, I can appreciate a catchy tune if I hear one, but there weren’t many that caught my ear during this picture. Maybe you have to be a fan of the play itself or see it a few times? I don’t know." He questions himself as he knows he is just a normal man running a website which a lot of people have taken interest in, and not some brown nosing newspaper critic who over appreciates every little detail. Thus his writing style appears much more human and individualised, creating a more captivating article because of its human appeal and depth.

Website Analysis Part 2: Summary (cont.)

The home page is built as a sort of hub for the various articles present. On the right hand side of the center, there are various advertisements for new films, fellow websites or movie memorabilia below a search engine with choices for this site or the entire web. Below this is a recipe for Movie Nachos, a food often represented as going hand in hand with a visit to the cinema.

On the left hand side of the center, we have the list of articles to choose from. They are colour coded depending on what type of article they are, the standard news items being black, the feature stories being blue, reviews and other similar features in red, and the just for fun features such as movie polls are green. This is much easier for the user to sift through the items listed if they know what they are looking for. Each article has been given a heading, usually about four words long to summarise the content of the article so the user doesnt have to click on each one to see what they are about. The use of such short phrases captivates the reader into curiosity, making them wonder what each one could be about, so they click on them to read the full story and gain a better understanding of its content.

Below the list of main articles we have three more little boxes allowing us to "jump" straight to headlines involving "movie hotties", a list of articles to do with actresses, upcoming movies, or dvd reviews of films currently available. Below these in the center of the page are another group of hyperlinks, taking us to the "small print" parts of the site and giving us the copyright information.

Right, now the summary of the main page is over, I will go on to talk about how these articles and features of the website relate to new media cultures.

Website Analysis Part 1:

BY WEEK SIX: Either a) Briefly analyse your all-time favourite website or b) Briefly analyse a site you like that you have come across recently. How is your chosen site structured. What is it about on a cultural level? What is the appeal for you as a user? Refer to some of the concepts we have discussed so far in the unit and link to pages you discuss as examples in your blog.

For my analysis I will be studying:
www.joblo.com

Joblo.com is a website dedicated to the film industry. I use it practically everyday to look at the latest news surrounding upcoming films, actors and actresses, directors and the release of trailers and promotional artworks for films. It is freely available worldwide and is updated daily to keep up with what is happening in the film world all the time. A team of writers work to keep the site running, and each of them deal with a different aspect of it, similar to how a newspaper would work.

The main page of Joblo has a very simple, user friendly layout. Across the very top of the page are a number of links that lead the user on to a number of supported sites or related sites that concur with the main page. Below that are a number of navigational links that take you away from the home page to the various locations within the site dealing with different items within the movie journalism business. There are 12 in total which each serve a certain purpose: Reviews, Trailers, Wallpapers, Scripts, Movie Talk, Release Dates, Screensavers, Upcoming Movies, Shopping, Cool Columns, Interviews, and finally: Arrow In The Head, a partnered brother site which is laid out in exactly the same way but tends to deal more with horror movies, both mainstream big budget and arthouse or indie flicks.

Currently the website sports a promotional banner alongside the main hub of the page to promote a new Will Ferrell comedy called Semi-Pro. This often changes, and from memory I can also recall promotions for Cloverfield and Diary Of The Dead. As this promotion is helpful for the studios who distribute these movies, it is constantly being updated, and the number of visitors to the page see the banner first as the webpage loads, giving them reason to read it before the actual article they wish to read appears. As with all webpages there is also a contact us link at the top of the page for any questions, queries or comments you may wish to pass on to the various writers and editors of the page alongside the chance to register for a site newsletter or to create an account on the site. There is also a scrolling banner with various items of praise for the site from more established news sites and magazines such as Entertainment Weekly. A cartooned image of the site creator adorns the heading as a logo for the page and a daily movie quote is shown at the top right of the page, which takes you to an audio file of the selected quote.

Week 3, Task 1: Relationships and identity online.

Is withholding one’s identity ethically wrong? Should we always use our full name?

The use of our full name online is practical for those who wish to find you, but not always. There is a great chance that someone in the world has the same name as you anyway, so even if you are "found" there is a chance it may not even be you. Withholding your identity could prove to the wider world that you are uncomfortable in yourself, or think that people want you to be something else. Whilst it may be beneficial to pretend you are someone else for some reason, there is always a way through the vastness of the internet to find out who you really are. A computer has its own address or mark to say where in the world it is and what it has been used for.

It is true that a big part of the internet's appeal is that you can express yourself among like minds, but if we are not showing our true self in the first place, how can this happen? Ideas given by yourself across the internet when you are not showing who you are could easily be plagiarised if there is no author to credit it to. Online self expression doesnt follow the restrictions that may be placed upon us in normal conversation so it is much easier to get our point across. However, by modifying our online self as it appears, we could be fundamentally changing our real selves. On the internet, you are never alone, you could be someone else entirely if you wanted to be, and create a whole new life and back story for yourself.

Depending on where you are and what you are talking about you can change your personality accordingly. If in a chat room for people whose favourite band is for example Aerosmith, you could become a 40something man who saw them in their prime back in the 70s and own everything theyve ever made. When really youre a 20 year old student with two of their albums and a tshirt. It is so easy to change yourself online to fit a mould you think you should be in.

Week 2, Task 2: Blogging

As a form of communication, i find a blog to be very one sided. I feel that it is basically one persons view on a subject being put out there for people to scrutinise, but it is not the same as proper communication or conversation. After all if someones view posted via a comment didnt go with your argument you can basically delete their comment, erasing their view. On the other hand, a blog allows a person who may normally be shy to have their view listened to and spread across the internet.

I think a blog is similar to a journal or newspaper. A set of ideas are presented and the chance to respond is available, but a very selective process decides whether or not your response will be published. Newspapers choose which letters to print, if any, and will not post any that are radically different to ideas they have presented already.

I do not find blogging as much of a personal experience as it is portrayed to be. This could be because I have to do it for an assignment instead of creating it on my own, but I find the whole idea to be quite strange. Whilst this blog is available to the world, how many people are actually going to want to read all the thoughts of an individual who has just discovered the internet? A blog is an interesting way to portray ideas but is it really that reliable? It is hard to know exactly who your audience is when there is no way of telling who has actually been looking at the page, outside of a visitors counter. Also, what do we count as appropriate to be posted? There is a content policy for a blog, which says that the following are forbidden: pornography and obscenity, hateful content, violent content, copyright, private and confidential information, impersonation, unlawful use of services and spam, malicious codes and viruses. (http://www.blogger.com/content.g)

So there is a limit on what can be posted in a blog, and what is deemed appropriate for your target audience, but content of some sites could still be questionable. Extremist political ideas of anarchic ideas could be spread as long as they are not seen to promote violence or hate against certain groups. Overall I find the blogging experience to be strange, and quite questionable of just how much information is too much information. I think some degree of privacy exists, but if a person wanted to keep their privacy private, why would they publish a blog in the first place?

Week 2, Task 1: Web Forums and Blogs

Navigation

A web forum is normally organised into specific subjects under various headings. This makes it easier for users to navigate through the pages in order to find a topic helpful to them. Some also utilise search engines for even quicker progression through pages and pages of material.

Expression

We express ourselves in web forums by posting messages for all users to read and respond to. Conversation occurs by reading the posts above or below your own in order to fully understand what the subject matter is and any debate around it. We keep up with a subject and respond to further comments made by others, keeping up the idea of a conversation occurring.

Interaction

As there is no actual depiction of emotion, we have to read the tone of voice a post in a forum is giving across. The use of emoticons, little images depicting characters in various emotions sometimes helps to put a point across in its intended manner, but where these are not available, we have to rely entirely upon reading the tone of voice a statement is printed in. This is largely dependent on how we choose to read it. There is also no worry present in a forum as everyone will get their say and be heard equally.

Time

I do not fully understand what this particular aspect of the task means. I would guess that it is asking what we think of having a week to perform all the tasks we're given? if so, I would say it is a fairly tight deadline, and rather time consuming for people not used to keeping a blog or constantly updating it, myself included. As a result of this I would say I have found this task harder than others, as it is finding the time to post on the blog and keep it going that is the hardest part.

Authority and identity

Again, on a forum there is not really any specific people in charge. There may be moderators present to ensure no users get abusive or break any rules of the forum, but no specific person in charge. A call and response structure of conversation occurs, as a user posts what it is they wish to know and depend on the kindness of other to respond to it in a truthful manner. Some users may assert forms of authority over a forum by saying something like they are a doctor so they understand what you are feeling whilst going through this illness, automatically formulating a way for us to interact with them, but we have to entirely trust this person not to be lying to us.

Speech / writing

The forum has features we would associate with both speech and writing. In its very nature it is speech, as it relies upon a conversational structure to keep going, but it is in a written form of either non standard or standard language. Users may depict an accent or an unfamiliarity with a language by substandard grammar and also depict a regional dialect through use of certain words, but if other users do not understand they can always ask what is meant for clarity, again likening a forum to speech.

Week 2: Reading Part 3

p.27 What do you understand by ‘non-linear, non-sequential reading and writing?’ Does it capture the experience of the Web?

The above quote is a fair representation of how most web pages appear. When we are presented with them, we see a single page, primarily a "home page" which acts as a central hub of navigation towards the rest of the site, using links dotted around the page or organised together around the page. There is no specific order for us to read these links, we can follow the route as planned by the order the links appear, or we can turn from the beaten track and read them in our own way. There is no specific way to read a web page as there are so many trains of thought you can catch away from the home page.

p.33 If new media allows more people to be involved in cultural production (compared to mass media) what are these new voices saying in public? In a DIY and click-to-send setting, what kind of things are people sharing with others that comes from their private/domestic world and might otherwise not be distributed?

From the creation of pages such as MYspace, YOUtube, and FACEbook, we have seen a profound increase in individual journalism. Anyone can log onto any of these sites, create their own page and upload their own material as they see fit. Youtube especially allows us to upload any video consisting of any material made from any topic, as long as it follows the websites guidelines, for it to be freely distributed to anyone who wishes to access it. Simple things like a video of a family event or a pet's antics to video blogs of critique of a government and other such items can be uploaded and seen by everyone across the world with a computer.

p. 42 (and preceding discussion of interactivity) Is there such a thing as ‘ideal interactivity’? What form might it take? You can also refer to Meikle’s four types in the week 2 lecture.

I do not think there is such a thing as ideal interactivity in any form. There are certain rules around interactions, like the syntax of conversation. Speakers wait their turn, do not generally interrupt and so on. But in normal, non virtual conversation these rules aren't perfectly adhered to, so why should online conversation be any different? Users dont have a way of knowing if the person they are talking to will be typing at the same time, it is just a case of keeping up with the conversation at hand.

Week 2: Reading Part 2

p.12 Is there a clean break between analogue and digital media (cf. Bolter and Grusin’s concept of ‘remediation’)? Can you identify any commonalities? For example, is email based on the language of ‘letters’ and ‘the postal service’ because we have tried to fashion its communication functions in terms we are already familiar with?

The similarities between email and letters are quite easily visible. Users type an email just as they would write a letter, they can stamp it as high priority similar to a letter and they can keep an electronic address book of their contacts just as they would a written down paper copy.

The same can be said of television. Normal analog television requires the viewer to buy a paper TV guide in order to know what is on and when, whereas freeview and digital television like Sky or Virgin simply require the push of a button for a service that does exactly the same thing as a TV Guide would.

p. 17 Digitality and code. Imagine you couldn’t compose your assignments on computer. How would a hand-written editing and composition process be different?

Again, a handwritten essay is very similar to a typed one in that they share the same characteristics of a written piece of work. Where they differ is in the delivery. A handwritten essay bears a much more personalised appearance than a computer typed counterpart, due to the use of fonts over handwriting. A font has been purposefully created to look a certain way, whereas a person's handwriting is individual to them. Psychologists argue that handwriting gives us an important look into a person's mind, and can help us identify their characteristics without ever meeting them. This is a fascinating argument, and where editing a piece of work on a computer is much less efficient and time consuming, a handwritten essay falls as it looks messy if parts are crossed out. A typed essay looks more professional because of its lack of human characteristics, making the creator more of a number than a personality.

p. 21 What do you make of Lunenfield’s concept of ‘immersive interactivity’? What could we apply it to?

Lunenfield's idea of immersive interactivity is an interesting way to look at a created world. We could use this to look at games because a gaming world is created specifically to appeal to its user. The mention of games such as doom and Tomb Raider are a fine example as each of these games exists in what could questionably be a parallel dimension to our own, to be scientifically fictitious! Doom is a first person shooter where your character is called upon to fight off a series of creatures brought straight from hell, set on Mars in a highly technological facility. This is reflected throughout the appearance of the game as almost sterile, until the enemies appear. Similarly in Tomb Raider, the player has control of Lara Croft, a character created entirely for the purpose of the game developer. Her world consists of ancient tombs and caves rife with areas for exploration and long lost artifacts to gather. The fact that these environments are believable within their contexts and our own real world immerses us wholly within the experience and gives us a sense of escapism.

Week 2: Reading

All readings taken from Lister, M et al. (2003) New Media Cultures: An Introduction, Routledge, London.

p. 2 With Windows Vista coming out, and so on, what is ‘upgrade culture’ all about? Is some new media change just consumerism thought up by big business?

Upgrade culture is the constant change and development of technology available to us that we choose to purchase. "With the practice of upgrading, the computer itself becomes a technology in flux, rather than a finally achieved and stable piece of technology." This means that because a computer is full of room for improvement and change, it is harder to analyse it as a technology due to its unstable nature. The introduction of Windows Vista is not just a consumerism, more so a consumerism by choice, as in people can choose to buy it if they would like their computer to run in a different or faster way. It does not mean that older variations of the same programme will become obsolete to the wider public, only the chosen few who like to run their PC's at their optimum efficiency.

p. 3+ According to Lister et al., some commentators stress the ‘newness’ of new media, but others (such as Kevin Robins) can be seen to be saying that nothing fundamental has changed, because new media technology is another product of capitalism, and therefore will fit into and serve a pre-existing capitalist society and culture, rather than transform it in any fundamental sense. Any thoughts? Can we critique this position?

I disagree with Robins's statement. Fundamentally technology has changed. Where once it was purely something immobile and only available to those whose wage packets exceeded four zeros, its ability to be mass produced and so widely available, thus cheapening it, has also made it immensely mobile and useful to people with a busy lifestyle. Look at the creation of the mobile internet available on mobile phones, and the creation of laptops small enough to fit into an envelope. Previously, although available to the whole world, the internet could only be accessed through the gateway that is a PC. Now, it can be accessed anywhere a signal reaches, which is basically worldwide, creating a more efficient technology better for using at any time, any place.

p.11 Are new media a source of ‘progress’ in the sense that they enhance things we do in spheres of social activity – business, education, shopping, democracy etc? Could we say that such a proposition involves an ‘ideology of progress’?

I think this can be true to an extent. Certain circles rely on enhancements of virtual life to make real life more fun and interesting, and we tend to get on with people even better when we share the same interests. The boom of Ebay as a business and a reliable shopping centre online is a fine example of this, as it is purely an internet company, yet businesses have grown up around for people who do not have the time to set up their own Ebay account and sell their belongings. Companies charge the selling fees which are very small and a commission of the final selling price as part of their work. I think that such a business exists prove how much influence technology can have over the wider world.

Week 1, Task 3: Technological Determinism

Technological determinism points towards technology being the force which shapes society.
"There are examples where technological change may be seen as literally outside of society: a primitive people might come into contact with a more advanced people and be affected by their more advanced technology. And there are times when technology may be seen as only metaphorically outside society: although literally they are members of society, scientists and technologists work independent of society, making discoveries and creating new devices which when introduced into that society have profound effects.

Some who would argue that technology is autonomous usually see it as the cause of one problem or another. Yet, different people see technology as causing different problems. Since World War II scientists have seen technology as a moral dilemma where their work can have profound effects on the human race and on the planet. Sociologists see the problem as the increasing complexity and rate of change which technology is bring about in society; technological changes, they argue, outpace the ability of individuals and societies to adapt. To others, technology is seen as a dominating force over society, posing a threat to human freedom."

Source: http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/trinity/determin.html


I think technological determinism is a valid concept, but only with regards to the use of technology for certain things. After all, humans are the ones creating the technology in the first place, and whilst technological improvements do make our lives a lot easier, the question of it being the leader of change in society is highly debatable.

Take for example, machines used to assist the elderly. Electronic hoists allow them to get in and out of bed or the bath with no trouble at all. This sort of technology offers a very helpful function, but does it really lead change in society? All is seems to do is aid someone in their everyday life. On the other hand, we have items like computers and ipods. Not many households are without a computer these days, and this sort of technology has definitely changed society. The creation of the internet allows us to perform mundane everyday tasks in a much easier way from the comfort of our own home. In this way, the internet has brought society and the world at large much closer together, allowing society to be lead by technology. But overall I do not think it is the technology we use that inspires our society to change and be led by it.

Week 1, Task 2: Joseph Goebbels - Radio as the eighth great power.

I found this text very interesting. Renowned for his constant stream of Nazi propaganda throughout their whole regime, Goebbels point of view on the use of radio in Nazi Germany was very interesting. At the beginning of his speech he refers to Napoleon's acknowledgment of the press as the seventh great power, as he fully understands the power of the press over society. Whoever controls the press controls everything that society views or hears, whether they believe what they are being told or not, boiling down to the passive/active audience theories. Goebbel sees radio as something that should be used in a political way because of its ability to captivate and enthrall the masses, making it a target rife for political messages broadcasting. However, because of his renown for propaganda it is difficult to understand whether he really sees Radio as a positive thing for the German public or for the government to further their messages.

Goebbel goes on to argue that the motives of the government were not random. Each of their broadcasts and speeches were prepared for a purpose, to ensure their procession into being the government of the country. Clearly in retrospect, the German public must have felt the power of the radio and have been greatly swayed by it, as from our view in the future, we can see that the Nazi party ascended to power, and it was not just from a lucky election. They knew what they were doing. "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. It is no exaggeration to say that the German revolution, at least in the form it took, would have been impossible without the airplane and the radio." He knows that what was new technology at the time was vital to their success, as people always show a great interest in new technology, whether it be condemning or praising it. Radio was a great way to reach a mass audience at a time with a single broadcast, whilst the airplane allowed them to travel around Germany giving personal appearances and speeches just like this one.

I think Radio today is very different to how Goebbels perceives it. For us today, it is mainly a source of entertainment or information. Political party broadcasts are still present on Radio, but are not as widely listened to as they would have been. As we also have such a large choice of radio stations, the variety and diversity present for us is vast enough that we can switch over and ignore political broadcasts if we so wish.

As for theories on the internet and its growth, I couldn't find much information that was actually useful. As with any new technology, people were skeptical at first, but now it is so widely used in society that we do not have many problems with it. The main example of a moral panic I could think of is the danger of paedophiles online. Children are thought to be at an incredibly high risk of paedophiles in chat rooms, and through "grooming" of a child they slowly gain enough trust to meet them. This is a fine example of a moral panic, as while yes, it does unfortunately happen, it is nowhere near as frequent as the media make it seem.

Did anyone manage to find any high profile studies of the internet?

Week 1, Task 1: Websites.

A website is a collection of pages created from HTML type text. Compared to the traditional type of writing, HTML allows a user to create images and other design based objects via the use of coding. They can be located from a URL or an HTTP which is the website address or home page. From a home page, you several links to other pages each dealing with a specific subject. Websites can have video, images, sounds, music, or just different colours to be eyecatching and appeal to the user. A web server holds the page and allows it to be published on the internet.

I use websites everyday in some form. Whether it be coming online to check my facebook, hotmail or myspace accounts for social purposes, accessing the university online campus for lecture notes or seminar tasks or simply browsing ebay or play for shopping. I also use the internet to keep updated on what is happening in the world of movies and games worldwide.

Week 1, Task 1: MUD's and MOO's

An MUD stands for Multiple User Dimension, Dialogue or Dungeon. When a user logs on, they choose to take control of a self created avatar, a physical representation of themselves in the game world, whether it looks like their actual self or not. Just like the real world, a character can walk around, chat to other players, solve puzzles, collect, by and sell items or explore the game world and its various "dungeons", a series of rooms containing treasure, monsters, puzzles, deathtraps or other obstacles designed to challenge the player.

An MOO is an object oriented version of a MUD, the main difference being that a MOO is more modifiable by the people playing it. The code a MOO is created from is much easier to modify so a user can create their own rooms and challenges.


I am not really familiar with these concepts. I know what they are as Ive had friends who have played on them, but the online games have never really appealed to me. I prefer sticking to Microsoft's Xbox Live, where I can play games I like and speak to the people I am playing with on a high powered machine capable of recreating a much more realistic environment.

Which type do you prefer, if any?

Week 1, Task 1: IRL Chat Rooms and Messenger Services.

A chat room is an online, constantly updated via "refreshing" of the page, area for people to have a conversation that is not limited by waiting for the other's reply. Depending on the capacity of the rooms, you could have over a hundred people speaking to each other at a time, which can get pretty confusing. The option for a private chat is often available, making it easier to concentrate on who you are talking to rather than sifting through lines of text with several users, not to mention the various languages they could be speaking in. Like most online services, the fact that chat rooms are available to internet users worldwide only helps to confuse matters.

As most chat rooms do not require users to upload a photo of themselves it is very easy for someone to lie about their appearance or age, among other things. As we saw in the lecture about the self, it is more often than not that people choose to make an image they think people will prefer and idolise. How can we prove the reliability of information available in a chat room?


On the other hand, MSN and other similar services like AOL messenger or Yahoo! Messenger are each much more private than a chat room. In order to speak to someone you need their account's email address, and these cannot be accessed publicly, only privately from the people you wish to speak to. When you have added them to your contact list you can speak to them in the same way as you would in a chat room, but without the conversations from random strangers. You can also put a display picture up for contacts to see, either of yourself of a current interest, and you can change your name as it is shown to your contacts.

Personally, i prefer MSN to a chat room by a mile. I am always changing my name and display picture to reflect my current interests, and I find this much more personal and interesting to do than to go into a chat room and be hit on by complete strangers. It is much safer for children who want to use the internet too, as they can speak only to people they know, and parental controls are much easier to exact upon a messenger service than a chat room that is open to the world.

Week 1, Task 1: Usenet and Bulletin Boards

USENET is a system of groups where millions of people at a time can discuss any topic they so desire. It was originally created in America to connect two universities and allow them to share information easily, but has now expanded to be freely available to everyone on the internet, which has also given it the name newsnet. Usenet also gives each topic a specific name depending on its content. This can be found in the address of the page, such as "news.newusers.questions is for new users to ask questions about Usenet."

Information found on http://www.harley.com/usenet/whatis-usenet.html


Bulletin Boards allow people to communicate in large groups at once. Users upload messages on any topic to the board, and other users comment on them, allowing discussions and interactions between people who are interested in one topic. They are available to anyone to read at any time, and are constantly updated with information, questions and personal opinions on a topic.

Information found on http://www.iffgd.org/site/learning-center/support-groups/online-self-help-groups-bulletin-boards


At first, I did not know what was meant by these two concepts. But when I researched deeper into them, I understood that I simply knew them by different names. Usenet to me, is Newsnet, and I regularly use a system very similar at University to collect any Journalism assignments I may have missed or need to collect etc. This is available through the online portal system under the title of Newsnet, allowing it to be very specific as to what exactly this is for. When I want to find a specific item, I simply look under the title of the Unit.

Similarly with bulletin boards, I use them regularly but know them as discussion forums. It is amazing how the internet has allowed us to create such communities where people can support one another without the embarrassment of personal confrontation, and I think these are a very good thing. Particularly, if someone has an embarrassing health problem or are worried about another person, they can seek help online without any repercussions in their lives from people who want to laugh at them as it is something they dont understand.

Week 1 Task 1: Emailing and email lists

Email is basically an online form of the traditional letter writing and or posting. While this remains the biggest form of communication, visible from the amount of delivery services still available worldwide, email remains one of the easiest forms to keep up to date with.

As a form of communication email is very easy to use. It is the same as letter writing, but an instant form, received by the intended party as soon as you click the send button. Therefore, it is handy to reach several people, or as many as your email sender will allow you, very quickly without having to repeatedly scribe your letter and perform the task of envelope licking.


I use my email to keep in touch with friends who live in various places around the world, as my job allows me to interact with people from all over the globe, whether Australian, French, Dutch or American, I can easily contact them online through an email, keeping them up to date with events where I am and vice versa. The introduction of email to the world helps us to keep a great many communicational channels open with minimal effort, the hardest part being to keep a log of a person's email address!

Other uses for email mainly occur from online communication with various companies offering different services, whether it be online banking, applying for a job, making an enquiry or simply internet shopping. A two way channel between the individual and the larger conglomerate is open all the time, for easily accessible assistance with any issues I may have.

First post....

So here it is! My first post.... and im unsure what else to do as ive missed the lectures and seminars so far... The week 3 lecture was on the self online, and it was quite interesting. easy to see how people can create a whole new self online, where no one can really SEE you.

More to follow soon!