In reflection for week 2
I've survived.
My mother said she was proud of me today and I replied "don't say that! it's only week 2!!!" But secretly I smiled to myself (easy to do as she was on the other end of the phone line).
Having managed to get through two topics for Net 102 (I want my mp3's and Gaming) and two for Web 101 (what is the Internet, and what is the world wide web) I've posted work to my blog and uploaded photos (YES!). I've even participated in on line discussion through the black board! *way hey!*.
Still I feel nervous, but that isn't such a bad thing is it? I suppose (supposition) I would be more worried if there was a degree of "comfortable" in my persona.
Week three (3) here I come.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Net 102 Week 2 Task 1.2 assignment 1 What are the implications of the rise of casual and social games on the internet for online gaming and everyday life?
Net 102
Topic 1.2 Games at work, no one knows I’m a wizard.
TASK 1.2 (ASSIGNMENT 1)
What are the implications of the rise of casual and social games on the internet for online gaming and everyday life? Not more than 500 words.
I switch on my phone and in the menu there are games. I receive adverts via email “join a site” that will enable me to “live a virtual life” and enjoy the benefits of games without physically leaving my chair. Nearly every web page I visit has a column advertising some form of virtual game or another. If I wanted to, I could network my computer and link up with other like minded players to play “War craft” or other such fantasy orientated past times. But why would I?
Social and casual gaming on the internet is on the rise, it has been since the increased use of the World Wide Web. The question being asked here is what? Are the implications? Internet gaming/gambling has become one of the major distractions within the workplace. E.g.: a person with a hidden gambling addiction can log on to a horse racing site, online casino etc and could effectively and secretly squander his or her pay packet without leaving the office. Not only is there a loss of productivity within the work place but within its self their behaviour affects their everyday life, their colleagues and their families, financially physically and cyber virtually. Companies are now taking steps to decrease and most often than not, block certain sites from their networks. Having worked in such an environment it is easy to understand why, when playing games on line all day is counter-productive. But there are ways to circumvent this especially with application phones such as Apple’s iPhones, so the addiction persists but with massive phone bills.
If you turn on your T.V, or pull up a web cast news site, you may at some stage watch a program about how internet gaming has enveloped a person’s life. I will have to use Farmville here as an example. The game is a Facebook application, (personally I loathe it/ blocked it as I was receiving countless “invites” to come tend someone’s garden!) but from observation this game tends to trigger some sort of addictive quality in the player/farmer similar to the endorphin high and low that a gambler receives. After doing some research via the internet I came across an interesting blog article called “I hate Farmville, stop the madness”. I discovered from this article that you actually spend real money on this site, kudos for the creator but a financial addiction for the participant, and similarly the anti social behaviour that affects their “real” lives.
I would have to agree with Nabeel Hyatt (2008, may 23) in the article "The Real and the Game: Game Culture Entering the New Millenium "(p 136) that “the parallel lives conducted in the game worlds may also be opportunities to act out unresolved conflicts or study aspects of the self that are kept hidden in real life.” So? What’s bad in real life is side stepped in virtual life. It’s something to think about.
Reference
Frans Mayra. (2008). The Real and the Game: Game Culture Entering the New Millenium. In An Introduction to Game Studies (pp. 118-151). London: Sage.
I hate farmville, stop the madness
http://www.myownpov.net/general/i-hate-farmville-stop-the-madness/
Topic 1.2 Games at work, no one knows I’m a wizard.
TASK 1.2 (ASSIGNMENT 1)
What are the implications of the rise of casual and social games on the internet for online gaming and everyday life? Not more than 500 words.
I switch on my phone and in the menu there are games. I receive adverts via email “join a site” that will enable me to “live a virtual life” and enjoy the benefits of games without physically leaving my chair. Nearly every web page I visit has a column advertising some form of virtual game or another. If I wanted to, I could network my computer and link up with other like minded players to play “War craft” or other such fantasy orientated past times. But why would I?
Social and casual gaming on the internet is on the rise, it has been since the increased use of the World Wide Web. The question being asked here is what? Are the implications? Internet gaming/gambling has become one of the major distractions within the workplace. E.g.: a person with a hidden gambling addiction can log on to a horse racing site, online casino etc and could effectively and secretly squander his or her pay packet without leaving the office. Not only is there a loss of productivity within the work place but within its self their behaviour affects their everyday life, their colleagues and their families, financially physically and cyber virtually. Companies are now taking steps to decrease and most often than not, block certain sites from their networks. Having worked in such an environment it is easy to understand why, when playing games on line all day is counter-productive. But there are ways to circumvent this especially with application phones such as Apple’s iPhones, so the addiction persists but with massive phone bills.
If you turn on your T.V, or pull up a web cast news site, you may at some stage watch a program about how internet gaming has enveloped a person’s life. I will have to use Farmville here as an example. The game is a Facebook application, (personally I loathe it/ blocked it as I was receiving countless “invites” to come tend someone’s garden!) but from observation this game tends to trigger some sort of addictive quality in the player/farmer similar to the endorphin high and low that a gambler receives. After doing some research via the internet I came across an interesting blog article called “I hate Farmville, stop the madness”. I discovered from this article that you actually spend real money on this site, kudos for the creator but a financial addiction for the participant, and similarly the anti social behaviour that affects their “real” lives.
I would have to agree with Nabeel Hyatt (2008, may 23) in the article "The Real and the Game: Game Culture Entering the New Millenium "(p 136) that “the parallel lives conducted in the game worlds may also be opportunities to act out unresolved conflicts or study aspects of the self that are kept hidden in real life.” So? What’s bad in real life is side stepped in virtual life. It’s something to think about.
Reference
Frans Mayra. (2008). The Real and the Game: Game Culture Entering the New Millenium. In An Introduction to Game Studies (pp. 118-151). London: Sage.
I hate farmville, stop the madness
http://www.myownpov.net/general/i-hate-farmville-stop-the-madness/
Net 102 READING # 4 FUTUREHITDNA
Net 102 READING # 4
Week 2 Topic 1.1 Music: I want my MP3’s
Frank, J. (2009). Impact the listener in the first seven seconds. In Futurehitdna: how the digital revolution is changing top 10 songs (pp. 30-51).
This is the first chapter from a book aimed at musicians that provides advice to musicians in the light of current music listening and discovery practices. Rather than assuming that people will encounter a song midway, as it is played on the radio, this chapter advises that, with the advent of MP3s and online music discovery and sharing services, the beginning of a song is critical to its success. What are some of the ways in which people encounter, discover and listen to music that are different from the past? (Curtin topic information)
My review
Frank, Jay (2009) discusses the impact that computerisation has had on influencing the listening choices of people. “How the digital revolution is changing Top 10 songs” (cover page title). He considers that the response and habits of the radio listener has in regard to an unfamiliar tune and the input that the Disc jockey has with the first 17 seconds of a song, has over a period of time “cause you to become familiar with songs that were heretofore unknown” (p31) and that the listener has already been exposed to around 15% of the song, “the listener will develop familiarity without even realising it.” (p31). The digital age was “supposed to” make the finding and listening to songs easier. What happened? According to Frank, the digital age of media defiantly made it easier for people to “find, obtain and experience music with which they are already familiar”. (p33) But the listener already has preconceived ideas about an existing song, which is after all, why they downloaded/ streamed or traded the song.
“As radio listener ship decreases, the reliance of radio for new music exposure also decreases significantly. As the active music listener gets immersed in the digital age, his primary exposure to new music comes in a variety of ways:
• iPod or other portable digital music player.
• On-demand airplay online.
• Online music video outlets.
• Online radio.
• Mobile music applications.”(p 33)
In the “timeline of music history” (p 35) delivery was by completely different mediums. Frank discusses that non –zero (when the song first starts) consideration was “barely in its infancy before it began to go away with the rise of the digital age” (p35) and that historically songs that are close to what we consider a modern pop song were “mostly played in campfire, choral, or minstrel settings when the lack of technology prevented music from being widely disseminated and songs were handed down or taught”. He considers (on page 36) that technology in the beginning of portability and mass production was cumbersome and even though through the decades to actually commence a song in the middle was extremely difficult, hence non zero effectiveness. Single song cylinders or Piano rolls, 78’s and 45 records.
Frank turns his discussion to the radio, the Dj’s influence on how a record would be played and how often (1950’s) and how there were very few choices for the music listener mainly because there was only AM band and limited radio stations. With the advent of FM band (1960’s), greater choices and wider variety of radio stations and music allowed for a greater choice of programmed songs. That same decade also brought the mass distribution and production of the LP (long playing record) vinyl record that contained, with bridges, a complete album of songs from a particular artist or group of artists. With such diversity of technological changes in the mid 1960’s “the transition then began from listeners becoming familiar with music” (p 37) to listeners listening to music that they had not previously encountered. To the 1980’s where MTV was a huge influence within the music genre but also influenced the youth culture with embedded advertising that swayed their purchasing. 1990’s brought competition to music television with other programs such as BET, The Box and Friday Night Videos, which just gave the consumer greater likely hood to channel surf and “tune in” to a song somewhere in the middle creating unpredictability . Do I stay or do I go.
My thoughts
I found the chapter quite interesting, it delved into not only the influence of Djs and Vjs on how songs are played and listened to but also how often. I did learn that the majority of the population will initially “tune” out if the singer doesn’t start the lyrics at the very start and how when on the radio, if this is the case, a DJ will cover that first 13 to 17 seconds and bridge the song. That being the case it seems that that significant input (for the first 15 percent of the song is whether that particular song will be a “hit” or a “miss”. Interesting.
What are some of the ways in which people encounter, discover and listen to music that are different from the past?
As I now listen to my iPod (mp3s), stream music via the World Wide Web or put a disc in a music system, it is in complete contrast to sitting round a camp fire singing songs from the beginning, or playing an old single record. What do I prefer, well both really, the comrade of a camp fire and the inclusion and exclusion of the world while I listen to my iPod.
Does familiarity breed contempt? Especially within a song, am I going to contribute to its financial success or it's delegation to the vaults of some record store on line?. Probably, if you like a song, no matter how long the intro is into the actual encounter of the lyrics you will listen to it again. I found that if I liked the introduction/ instrumental 17+ seconds, I will listen to the whole song, or not. Emotion plays a great part.
Frank, J. (2009). Impact the listener in the first seven seconds. In Futurehitdna: how the digital revolution is changing top 10 songs (pp. 30-51).
Futurehit: Nashville, Tennessee. http://www.futurehitdna.com/
Curtin University unit notes.
Week 2 Topic 1.1 Music: I want my MP3’s
Frank, J. (2009). Impact the listener in the first seven seconds. In Futurehitdna: how the digital revolution is changing top 10 songs (pp. 30-51).
This is the first chapter from a book aimed at musicians that provides advice to musicians in the light of current music listening and discovery practices. Rather than assuming that people will encounter a song midway, as it is played on the radio, this chapter advises that, with the advent of MP3s and online music discovery and sharing services, the beginning of a song is critical to its success. What are some of the ways in which people encounter, discover and listen to music that are different from the past? (Curtin topic information)
My review
Frank, Jay (2009) discusses the impact that computerisation has had on influencing the listening choices of people. “How the digital revolution is changing Top 10 songs” (cover page title). He considers that the response and habits of the radio listener has in regard to an unfamiliar tune and the input that the Disc jockey has with the first 17 seconds of a song, has over a period of time “cause you to become familiar with songs that were heretofore unknown” (p31) and that the listener has already been exposed to around 15% of the song, “the listener will develop familiarity without even realising it.” (p31). The digital age was “supposed to” make the finding and listening to songs easier. What happened? According to Frank, the digital age of media defiantly made it easier for people to “find, obtain and experience music with which they are already familiar”. (p33) But the listener already has preconceived ideas about an existing song, which is after all, why they downloaded/ streamed or traded the song.
“As radio listener ship decreases, the reliance of radio for new music exposure also decreases significantly. As the active music listener gets immersed in the digital age, his primary exposure to new music comes in a variety of ways:
• iPod or other portable digital music player.
• On-demand airplay online.
• Online music video outlets.
• Online radio.
• Mobile music applications.”(p 33)
In the “timeline of music history” (p 35) delivery was by completely different mediums. Frank discusses that non –zero (when the song first starts) consideration was “barely in its infancy before it began to go away with the rise of the digital age” (p35) and that historically songs that are close to what we consider a modern pop song were “mostly played in campfire, choral, or minstrel settings when the lack of technology prevented music from being widely disseminated and songs were handed down or taught”. He considers (on page 36) that technology in the beginning of portability and mass production was cumbersome and even though through the decades to actually commence a song in the middle was extremely difficult, hence non zero effectiveness. Single song cylinders or Piano rolls, 78’s and 45 records.
Frank turns his discussion to the radio, the Dj’s influence on how a record would be played and how often (1950’s) and how there were very few choices for the music listener mainly because there was only AM band and limited radio stations. With the advent of FM band (1960’s), greater choices and wider variety of radio stations and music allowed for a greater choice of programmed songs. That same decade also brought the mass distribution and production of the LP (long playing record) vinyl record that contained, with bridges, a complete album of songs from a particular artist or group of artists. With such diversity of technological changes in the mid 1960’s “the transition then began from listeners becoming familiar with music” (p 37) to listeners listening to music that they had not previously encountered. To the 1980’s where MTV was a huge influence within the music genre but also influenced the youth culture with embedded advertising that swayed their purchasing. 1990’s brought competition to music television with other programs such as BET, The Box and Friday Night Videos, which just gave the consumer greater likely hood to channel surf and “tune in” to a song somewhere in the middle creating unpredictability . Do I stay or do I go.
My thoughts
I found the chapter quite interesting, it delved into not only the influence of Djs and Vjs on how songs are played and listened to but also how often. I did learn that the majority of the population will initially “tune” out if the singer doesn’t start the lyrics at the very start and how when on the radio, if this is the case, a DJ will cover that first 13 to 17 seconds and bridge the song. That being the case it seems that that significant input (for the first 15 percent of the song is whether that particular song will be a “hit” or a “miss”. Interesting.
What are some of the ways in which people encounter, discover and listen to music that are different from the past?
As I now listen to my iPod (mp3s), stream music via the World Wide Web or put a disc in a music system, it is in complete contrast to sitting round a camp fire singing songs from the beginning, or playing an old single record. What do I prefer, well both really, the comrade of a camp fire and the inclusion and exclusion of the world while I listen to my iPod.
Does familiarity breed contempt? Especially within a song, am I going to contribute to its financial success or it's delegation to the vaults of some record store on line?. Probably, if you like a song, no matter how long the intro is into the actual encounter of the lyrics you will listen to it again. I found that if I liked the introduction/ instrumental 17+ seconds, I will listen to the whole song, or not. Emotion plays a great part.
Frank, J. (2009). Impact the listener in the first seven seconds. In Futurehitdna: how the digital revolution is changing top 10 songs (pp. 30-51).
Futurehit: Nashville, Tennessee. http://www.futurehitdna.com/
Curtin University unit notes.
Net 102 Topic 1.2 Games at work, no one knows Im a wizard :Task assignment :discussion
Discussion:
Drawing on your own experience, discuss the role of games in general in teaching children and adults about functioning in society and creating, modifying and maintaining relationships with each other—are there differences in online and face to face gaming, in this respect? What games do you play and what part do they play in your life? What type of game player would you classify yourself, an enthusiast, casual or occasional gamer? If you don't play games nowadays, discuss your personal experience of games in general; the games you played as a child on the street, in your home. Include all sorts of games, e.g. boardgames, tic tac toe, hopscotch, sport.
Response:
I would first like to say that when I grew up (I’m a child of the late 60's and an interesting couple of decades, the 70's and 80's) the age of mass digital gaming was only just beginning. For me, as only an occasional gamer, I played and watched electronic games such as pac man and Miss Pac evolve from large units that you found sitting in the corner of the local milk bar, and now seemingly highly collectable, to becoming hand held units and progressing on to an app that you can now load onto your iPhone. Growing up we used to see how many whirly whirls we could do on the monkey bars before you got friction burns, or lining up all the kids at the end of a cultasac and riding that red sparkle fleck skateboard at them to see who was chicken!(not recommended now). Personally I prefer in my gaming world, human interaction, such as a game of chess in the park with a child who you know you should let win but (secretly) you don't! In observation there is a place for games in teaching children, my son utilises Lexia Reading, which is an education department initiated learning game for spelling. Gaming for adults on the other hand, in my perspective, can become obsessive and be substituted for the "real" world. I would like to hear anyone elses thoughts on this.
Drawing on your own experience, discuss the role of games in general in teaching children and adults about functioning in society and creating, modifying and maintaining relationships with each other—are there differences in online and face to face gaming, in this respect? What games do you play and what part do they play in your life? What type of game player would you classify yourself, an enthusiast, casual or occasional gamer? If you don't play games nowadays, discuss your personal experience of games in general; the games you played as a child on the street, in your home. Include all sorts of games, e.g. boardgames, tic tac toe, hopscotch, sport.
Response:
I would first like to say that when I grew up (I’m a child of the late 60's and an interesting couple of decades, the 70's and 80's) the age of mass digital gaming was only just beginning. For me, as only an occasional gamer, I played and watched electronic games such as pac man and Miss Pac evolve from large units that you found sitting in the corner of the local milk bar, and now seemingly highly collectable, to becoming hand held units and progressing on to an app that you can now load onto your iPhone. Growing up we used to see how many whirly whirls we could do on the monkey bars before you got friction burns, or lining up all the kids at the end of a cultasac and riding that red sparkle fleck skateboard at them to see who was chicken!(not recommended now). Personally I prefer in my gaming world, human interaction, such as a game of chess in the park with a child who you know you should let win but (secretly) you don't! In observation there is a place for games in teaching children, my son utilises Lexia Reading, which is an education department initiated learning game for spelling. Gaming for adults on the other hand, in my perspective, can become obsessive and be substituted for the "real" world. I would like to hear anyone elses thoughts on this.
things I do of a Sunday morning………..when its a beautiful morning……….
photograph the rich sunrise on the mountain at 6am……12/09/2010
take a photo or three of my evil but gorgeous cat………Velcro
and head to the gym before I do some more study (possibly, make that probably! (ah the things we do when the kids are away…)
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