Internet Studies (Net 102) Assignment 4 Essay 2

Internet Studies 102 (Net 102) Assignment 4: Essay 2

 Curtin University Grade: 75%
Laura Herbert


Essay Question: Critically evaluate this statement: the Internet offers a space where people may resist oppression on a daily basis; it overturns traditional structures of power and control.

Technological Freedom

There are technological advances of the Internet compared to the printed book page that have the ability to democratize information by simplifying the creation, skill, knowledge, duplication, storage and fluidity of distribution of data. By utilising applications, networking through computers can facilitate communication amongst a broader spectrum of individuals. People from remote locations are able to associate with one other by creating user accounts specifically to engage in varieties of social networking, fighting the suppression of human rights, the invocation of freedom and political practices, and more generally to make their utopian visions of opinions matter by having their voices heard on a unified global platform. This essay will argue technology's usage to enhance people's options for greater communication in an online environment and to discuss the capacity of online community's ability to overturn the traditional structures of power and control allowing people to resist oppression by utilising the Internet's ubiquitous ability for freedom of social expression.
 Literacy has been an important developmental mile stone in human history, it represented a time that saw the emergence of abstract thought and linear forms of thinking and expression as well as a change of perception of space and time. (Harris, 2003. Hongladarom, 2002) When Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15^th century information began to distribute to a greater number of people in more diverse places at a cheaper cost than that of hand written Latin language manuscripts deleteriously produced by monks. Although machine printed books of that era kept in large libraries were accessible to the masses, only the elite, powerful, educated and religious educators could afford to access the books, keeping power and control of information distribution in the hands of the minority and not the majority.(Solove, 2007)

Don Slater in his paper Social Relationships and Identity Online and Offline makes an interesting observation concerning peoples adaptation of information "…past media have also seemed to constitute new forms and spaces of sociality, even virtuality's, they have quickly been absorbed into every day practices as utilities …" (cited McLuhan 1974,Standage 1999 by Slater, 2002). Although before the ubiquitous application of the internet in the later part of the 20^th Century, choices of mass media consumption were limited in the form of the printed newspaper, radio and television. These facilities greatly accelerated the dissemination of information albeit in a mostly singular direction lending significant power to the hands of a small but significant group of editors and producers of printing, recording and broadcasting technology. Communication by individuals meeting and talking and the use of the telephone contained groups to a specific social environment until the widened public use of the Internet. The commonality of use of the Internet changed the dynamic nature of information sharing and with this technological change came technological structure and a widening degree of personal and political freedom.danah boyd's article Facebook's Privacy Trainwreck, Exposure, Invasion, and Social Convergence, directs the reader to the idea that people require structure in the real world but not on line. "… Off line, people are accustomed to having architecturally defined boundaries ..." The idea of actual life defined boundaries does not physically apply to the context of the Internet. For religious, political and even suppressed ideals, the Internet has allowed for greater range of freedom and in doing so offers individuals and masses a widened information sharing capability with access to platforms such as social networking sites, political, religious and human rights web pages. These technological structures easily altered to fit a user's specific demographic and individual requirement of spatial usability. boyd concurs in her article "… The digital world has different properties and these can be easily altered through the development of new technologies …" (2008)
 The development of new technologies has widened people's ability for greater communication with each other, creating a divergence of concepts and culture. Shafti describes understanding information distribution as communal in Incoherent Thoughts "… As the reality of the information age becomes more certain, people are beginning to understand the vast expanse of new media …" As such users are interacting with each other socially and culturally in a greater capacity. People are connecting in interesting and new ways and for some the internet ingrained in such a way that communication and accessibility electronically are part of a daily routine that allows them freedom from constraints of the traditional structures of power and control. Community and identity as Shafti points out can be "… different people from different parts of the world establish a virtual community in cyber space. Here they share their ideas, opinions, belief, political perspectives, interests etc. …" (2005) This utopian vision and the opening of internet frontiers has enabled people to connect with others that they would not have otherwise have met in a real life setting. People create communities with common ground for different reasons, overriding a degree of possible oppressive social or political behaviour and giving the users greater acceptance within a specific on line peer structure.

Early theorists speculated that electronic communication would be inherently democratic, allowing equal access to data and knowledge, modern communication and transportation technologies have made the classical notion of world politics obsolete. The Internet has evolved from a communication conduit between scientists and engineers engaged in defence work to an information dissemination tool used to resist human rights abuses worldwide, it is the natural vocation of a conscious people to resist oppression. Territorial boundaries, however much bolstered by doctrines of sovereignty are no-longer impregnable; the Internet has made them porous. Increasingly easy access to e-mail and the World Wide Web allows many politically disenfranchised groups to communicate with like-minded or sympathetic audiences, publicising causes often overlooked by the mainstream media and offering perspectives frequently stifled by the conservative corporate ownership.There are a multitude of platforms that any number of disembodied users can and do utilise. "... social network sites (SNS) such as MySpace Facebook, Cyworld, and Bebo..." researched and described by boyd and Ellison (2007) concur with Shafti's previously discussed perspective of community and identity, "…there are hundreds of SNSs, with various technological affordances, supporting a wide range of interests and practices. While their key technological features are fairly consistent, the cultures that emerge around SNSs are varied. Most sites support the maintenance of pre-existing social networks, but others help strangers connect based on shared interests, political views, or activities. Some sites cater to diverse audiences, while others attract people based on common language or shared racial, sexual, religious, or nationality-based identities …" (boyd, Ellison, 2002)

Social network site Facebook has demonstrated the ability to create common ground for various causes whether they are fighting the suppression of human rights, the invocation of freedom and political practices, and more generally utopian or dystopian visions (Shafti, 2005) of private individuals. Within a couple of minutes, a person is able to generate and establish a particular 'interest wall' that displays a link to their cause's main web site which a member may visit if they wish. With this ease of access Facebook's utilities has been employed by a growing number of human rights groups. Consumers of the social networking site are able to demonstrate their allegiance by mouse clicking a 'like' button at the top of the wall page. "...Facebook, Human Rights Watch Non-profit 70,226 people like this. Facebook, Human Rights Campaign Non-profit 646,643 people like this. Facebook, Australian Human Rights Commission Government 3,096 people like this. Facebook, Human rights Page 30,100 people like this. Facebook, Universal Declaration of Human Rights Non-profit 25,191 people like this. Facebook, The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) Non-profit 2,713 people like this ..." (Facebook, November 15, 2010) No longer are people "...happily oblivious to this social network website ..." (White, 2008)

 

By demonstrating people's connection to each other on a social networking site (SNS) such as Facebook this paper has shown that strangers are able to connect on the Internet in a common cause and in doing so have created an online community of like minded individuals. In comparing technological advances before and after the Internet's inception, this essay has argued technology's usage to enhance people's options for greater communication in an online environment are able to usurp the traditional structures of power and control allowing people to resist oppression by utilising the Internet's ubiquitous ability to form communities that represent and allow freedom of social expression.

 Bibliography

 boyd, d. (2008) Facebook's Privacy Trainwreck. Exposure, Invasion, and Social Convergence. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. (pp.14) Retrieved November 14, 2010 Curtin University of Technology
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
http://www.danah.org/papers/FacebookPrivacyTrainwreck.pdf

 boyd, d. m. , & Ellison, N. B (2007) Social Network sites; Definition, History and Scholarship. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication 13(1) article 11 Retrieved November 14, 2010 from

 Eisenstein, E. (1982) The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. European History after 1450. Cambridge University Press. (pp. 1-20 Inc. preface). Reviewed November 14^th 2010.

 Facebook Human rights heading Search,
http://www.facebook.com/search.php?q=human+rights&init=quick&tas=0.07180594468679424 Retrieved from Facebook November 15, 2010

 Facebook, Human Rights Watch http://www.facebook.com/HumanRightsWatch?v=wall / http://www.hrw.org/ Retrieved from Facebook. November 15, 2010.

Harris, Laurel. (2003) Time, space. In Theories of Media (University of Chicago) Archived by Webcite. Retrieved November 14, 2010 Curtin University of Technology
http://docs.law.gwu.edu/facweb/dsolove/Future-of-Reputation/text/futureofreputation-ch2.pdfhttp://csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/timespace.htm



Hongladarom, Soraj. 2002. "The Web of Time and the Dilemma of Globalization," The Information Society 18(4), (pp. 241 – 249, pp. 242). Retrieved November 14, 2010 from, Curtin University of Technology Library E-Reserve


Shafi, "Can a Virtual Community be any different from the experience of a Real Community?" Incoherent Thoughts, December 13, 2005. Archived by Web cite. Curtin University of Technology Retrieved November 14, 2010
 http://shafisaid.wordpress.com/2005/12/13/can-a-virtual-community-be-any-different-from-the-experience-of-a-real-community/


Slater, Don. (2002). Social Relationships and Identity Online and Offline. In Leah A. Lievrouw & Sonia M. Livingstone (Eds.), Handbook of New Media (pp. 533-546). Cited in paper: McLuhan, M (1974) Standage, T (1999) Retrieved November 14, 2010 from, Curtin University of Technology Library E-Reserve.


Solove, D., (2007). How the Free Flow of Information Liberates and Constrains Us, in The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet. (pp. 18) Retrieved November 14, 2010


The National Archives, Human Rights Archive
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/humanrights/ Reviewed November 15, 2010.

Please do not plagiarise my work. I am quite happy however for you to quote or cite my assignment. This assignment submitted to Curtin University of Technology for grading.

White, M M., “Facebook Suicide ,"Adbusters, June 4, 2008. Archived by WebCite Curtin University of Technology. Retrieved November 15, 2010

Net 102 Assignment 2 Essay 1 Sex blogs and Social Acceptance

Internet Studies 102/502: The Internet and Everyday Life

Assignment: 2

Essay: 1

Grade: Distinction (73%)

Sex Blogs and Social Acceptance

Adult materials such as pornography, sexual blogging and dating have become part of everyday life, particularly for regular anonymous internet users. Pornography and varying degrees of sexual content are now considered part of mainstream websites through forms of blogs, advertising and various connective links.  Blogs, with particular attention to hentai (app1) presumably contain content that has a large percentage of pornographic images and sexual content associated with them. This paper will discuss how internet users regularly utilise blog sites that contain varying degrees of pornographic (app 2) / altporn (app 3) content and as such blogs of a sexual nature are showing greater acceptability within main stream internet use with lesser degrees on anonymity.

Wellman and Haythornthwaite write, “It is time for more differentiated analyses of the Internet to take into account how it has increasingly become embedded in everyday life. The master issue is whether the Internet is drawing us away from everyday life or adding layers of connectivity ...” (Wellman and Haythornthwaite, 2002).  The evolution of the internet and its content has generated extended study and discussion forums concerning involvement and integration into everyday lives. As a form of new media technology, the internet is now regarded as being one of the most pivotal and accessible technologies available. 

While there are certain regulations in place for the entry into some pornographic websites, pornography is thriving on the internet, discovered either intentionally or accidentally by most Internet users. Society as a whole is extremely interested in the subject of sex both in real life and via the World Wide Web.

Schnarch and Morehouse. Social Psychologists, report that “... sex is one of the most researched items on the internet today ...” (2002).  Fiske shows us that “... distance is a key marker of difference between high and low culture, between the meanings, practices and pleasures characteristic ...” (2008).  Sexual viewing or supplying of either explicit photographic images, adult and or child, authoring or reading web diaries or web streaming facilities such as pay per view or membership orientated sites that incorporate hentai or non mainstream sexual practices could possibility contribute to social misunderstanding if the user is exposed.

The Internet may serve as an important platform for sexual self-expression and as such the explicit sexual content of blog websites that has been viewed or contributed to may be an instigating factor for hiding identity on line and off, “...freedom of expression and the right to privacy, use of anonymity is legal...” (Palme, Berglund 2002)

The Collins English Dictionary defines Weblogs as:

·         Personal Web site that provides updated headlines and news articles of other sites that are of interest to the user; also may include journal entries, commentaries and recommendations compiled by the user; also written web log; also called blog.

 Rebecca Blood comments on the origins of blogs, “... original weblogs were link-driven sites. Each was a mixture in unique proportions of links, commentary, and personal thoughts and essays ...” (Blood, 2000). Attwood suggests in her article ‘No Money shot ...’(2007) that “... rich technology ensures web sites create ease of access that has enabled and even increased the involvement of users and the participatory nature of a cross section of society ...” 

 Technorati, one of the largest blog directories on the World Wide Web is currently tracking 1242412 (Technorati, 2010) blogs of various subjects. It is unknown how many sexually orientated blogs exist in the blogosphere.

Blogs of a hentai nature written by women have tended to attract large followings. Blogs titled such as Girl with a one track mind, Wonkette/Washingtonienne, Belle De Jour, Tasty Trixie and Eros have gained altporn pop culture status over the last decade. And as such “... porn is able to become chic ...” (Attwood, 2007).  In 2004 the graphic sexual blog written under the pseudonym of Abby Lee, Girl with a One Track Mind by Zoe Margolis began its inception and rise in popularity with a simple objective, as stated by Zoe Margolis “... I decided to write about sex in my blog because I felt that the feminist and female-centred perspective is missing from mainstream media ...” (2008). Since 2004, the blog has become extremely popular showing a readership per annum in the millions, earning the site twenty fourth ranking by the British website, The Guardian in their 50 most powerful blogs. The inclusion of ‘Girl with a One Track Mind’ on the afore mentioned list suggests that blogs of a sexual nature are showing greater acceptability within main stream internet use and as such integration and reading of blogs of similar class content are becoming a social normality instead of a social abnormality.

Sexual blog sites of varying genre have garnered wider social acceptance within the internet community per say and as such a lessening degree of anonymity has been demonstrated. This paper has explained how internet users are utilising blog sites that contain varying degrees of sexual content and as such sexuality of the World Wide Web has become part of everyday life in internet mediated activities. 

Bibliography

Attwood, F. (2007). No Money Shot? Commerce, Pornography and New Sex Taste Cultures. Sexualities, 10(4), 441-456.  Retrieved 6/10/2010 from Curtin University of Technology Library E-Reserve

Barak, A. (ed.) (2008). Psychological aspects of cyberspace: theory, research, applications Ch. 8. The Sexy Side of the Internet: an Examination of Sexual Activities and materials in Cyberspace. p 185-208 (p 189) Retrieved 9/10/2010 from Curtin University of Technology Library E-Reserve

Blood, R."Weblogs: A History and Perspective", Rebecca's Pocket. 07 September 2000. 26 July 2010. http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html   Retrieved 7/10/2010

Cutin University (2010) Web 101, Net 102 Course information, Retrieved 5/10/2010

Cutin University (2010) iLecture:  Web 101 Blogs by Dr Tama Lever, Retrieved 6/10/2010

Ess. C, Sudweeks. F , Voiskounsky A (1998) Proceedings Cultural Attitudes Towards Communications and Technology. Internet: Culture Diversity and Unification, Retrieved 8/10/2010

http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac98/pdf/07_voiskounsky.pdf

Fiske, J. (1992). Cultural Studies and the Culture of Everyday Life. In Lawrence Grossberg, Cary Nelson, & Paula A Treichler (Eds.), Cultural Studies (pp. 154-173). New York: Routledge

Guardian News and Media Ltd (2010) world’s 50 most powerful blogs.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/09/blogs Retrieved 9/10/2010 

Hine, C. (2000) Virtual Ethnography. Sage Publications Ltd. Retrieved 8/10/2010 p 37-44

Margolis, Z (2008) Zoe Margolis. Retrieved 9/10/2010

http://www.zoemargolis.co.uk

Meyer, C. (1993-1994) Sex, Sin, and Women's Liberation: Against Porn-Suppression. Tex. L. Rev. 1097  http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/tlr72&div=39&id=&page Retrieved 9/10/2010

Palme,J and Berglund, M. (2007) Anonymity on the internet.

http://people.dsv.su.se/~jpalme/society/anonymity.html  Retrieved 9/10/2010

Schnarch,D, Ph.D. and Morehouse,S, Ph.D. (2002) Online Sex, Dyadic Crises, and Pitfalls for MFTs Sept/Oct., issue of Family Therapy Magazine Retrieved 8/10/2010

http://crucibletherapy.com/online-sex-dyadic-crises-and-pitfalls-mfts

Technorati (2010) http://technorati.com/blogs/directory/ Retrieved 9/10/2010

weblog. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved October 06, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/weblog

Wellman, B and Haythornthwaite, C (2002): The Internet in Everyday Life
Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, An introduction (p 8) (alk.paper) Retrieved 6/10/2010 from Curtin University of Technology Library E-Reserve

Appendix

1.      Hentai: Sexually explicit media images.

2.      Pornography:  It is notoriously difficult to define pornography, definitions rest on the prejudgement and prejudices of the viewer.  Ambiguous terms: writings, drawings, photographs or like. (Meyer, 1994)

3.      Altporn: Sometimes called punk porn or indie porn, as these names suggest, has a particular subculture focus. (Attwood, 2008)

Net 102 Assignment 3 Learning Conversations: Reflections

Net 102: (Internet Studies, The Internet and Everyday Life). Assignment 3: Learning Conversations

Laura Herbert

Reflections

This document is comprised of my personal reflections as to how I have met the learning requisites for Net 102, I will also discuss in this paper a selection of chronological tutorial discussion topics posted to "Curtin University Black Board" (shown in this document as BB) and my interaction responses.

When I first returned to study Open University was my personal choice having lost direction a number of years ago when I physically attended a local university only to become involved more with campus lifestyle than actual study. I have found studying online conducive to my family life which is fundamental in my continuation and buoyed with the support from tutors and other students I have maintained my objective. When I began, my aim was to demonstrate to myself that I have the capacity to achieve and learn new information and to show that I could utilise that knowledge in an informative and productive way. In hindsight, I have surpassed my own expectations in discovering my capability to learn from tutorial feedback and discovered an ability to write in an academic manner. I have come across one small flaw however on my road to educational success that is tantamount to this document, difficulty experienced in contributing to Curtin's BB Discussion topics over the course of the study period. As I re-read posts to utilise in the writing of this paper, realisation became clear that the majority of my writing is quite basic. I have selected five exerts to discuss in chronological order, eldest to the latest, that show my interaction with other students and my developing knowledge of subjects combined with my developing writing skills.

The first Group Discussion Topic that I contributed to, "Introduction: Studying the Internet: Subject: Discussion Starter" (app.1), shows simple analysis and diversity of the groups dynamic at the commencement of the course. My post demonstrates my initial thinking at the time of writing, eager to contribute but generalised in writing style while discussing my initial encounter with the Internet. I found that the Discussion Starter was an important process in introducing student's experiences and contribution towards the collective group in an online tutorial setting.

My second contribution had become more structured as I had initiated a thread discussion relating to Topic 1.1 I want my MP3's. The thread – http://cme.medscape.com/medscapetoday Accessed and viewed, Internet 14^th September 2010, reviewed for discussion paper 5^th November 2010.economy, community, power and identity, Topic 1.1: I want my MP3's (app, 2). "... Was it inspired or directionalised by the people that were around you at the time? ..." (Herbert, 2010). By initiating this thread, I was able to establish interaction with fellow students (app.2a) that included reference from the topic's required reading, Laughey: "Music Media in Young People's Everyday Lives". (Laughey, 2007) I would have to consider this early section one of my accomplishments and a definite improvement with my early learning direction.

Both appendices three and four are concerned with Topic 1.4: Health: What my doctor didn't tell me. (app. 3. app. 4) I have included two threads from this particular topic as they demonstrate not only my responses to other student's contributions to BB but also an ability (app,3a) to source information from outside of the course to contribute functionally to the written conversation. The main contexts of the conversations are in relation to the "Discuss" section concerning our experiences using resources online to seek medical information. I found this section quite interesting, as other students were able to point out different aspects of information from sites such as beyondblue.org that I had not seen. My reflection in this section written informally, does not formally mention of any of the Topic readings such as Gunther Eysenbach's, Medicine 2.0: Social Networking, Collaboration, Participation, Apomediation, and Openness, but does refer to his methodology of medical investigation utilising Web 2.0 tools. (Eysenbach,2008).

 My final contributions from the BB Group Discussion Board, Topic 2.1 Power and Economy, Subject: Readings and Lectures (app,5) and Subject: Internet Access (app,5a) are my strongest displays of not only my ability to integrate the course work but also to engage with other students to build what has become rich topic streams. There had been range of discussions thought out the group but feel that my direction with this subject has become my most resourceful. I was able to draw upon Mansell's scholarly work Economy, Power and New Media. New Media & Society (Mansell,2004) putting forward my observations in an academic manner and as such contributing not only to the Readings and Lectures section (app.5) but also informatively Internet Access (app.5a).

I have found my progression though Net 102 Internet and Everyday Life encouraging. I feel that I have addressed the academic requirements of the course, improving on my weaknesses such as assignment writing and contribution towards the discussion board entries. I am proud that I have found my strengths in the ability to achieve not only quality work but also interaction with tutors, lecturers and fellow students.

Bibliography

Beyondblue (2010) http://beyondblue.org Accessed 19^th September 2010, 5^th November 2010 reviewed for discussion paper.

Eysenbach, G (2008, August 25). Medicine 2.0: Social Networking, Collaboration, Participation, Apomediation, and Openness. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 10(3). , Curtin University of
Technology e- reserve. Accessed 6^th November 2010

Herbert,L (2010) Discussion Board Thread Detail: economy, community, power and identity. Accessed 5^th November 2010

Laughey, D. (2007). Music Media in Young People's Everyday Lives. In Music, Sound and Multimedia: From the Live to the Virtual (pp. 172-187). , Curtin University of Technology e- reserve

Mansell, R. (2004). Political Economy, Power and New Media. New Media & Society, 6(1), 96-105, Curtin University of Technology e- reserve, Retrieved 15^th October 2010.
Medscape, (1994-2010) LLC

Appendices(app.1) Introduction: Studying the Internet:

 Author: Laura Herbert
Posted date: Monday, August 30, 2010 11:38:04 AM WST
Last modified date: Monday, August 30, 2010 11:46:11 AM WST
Author: Tim Holland - tutor
Date: Monday, August 30, 2010 7:03:07 AM WST
Subject: Discussion Starter

"Our first discussion question is:
How does your experience of the Internet compare with others? For instance: how did you first encounter, hear or read about it; when and how did you first 'go online' and what did you think of it; how do you use it nowadays; do you think of it as different or part of your everyday life?
Just post your ideas and experiences - it is always interesting to see how diverse we are as a group when we respond to this question.
As we find out more and more about the Internet in our everyday lives, we might be surprised at the differences between us, so I will reveal the extent of my web presence (or we shadow) in a later post. Tim"

Hi all.
I first started utilising the internet way back in the middle of the 90's when I went and studied a couple of courses at my local university. One of my younger brothers was interested and had commenced study (computer science) and I thought that I could also "give it a whirl" as I had been working in the fitness industry since my late teens and needed a change.  I would have to say that back then it was a huge mistake (make that massive distraction) as I found the chat rooms (the old version of ICQ) more interesting than my actual university studies and sans to say I failed the course I was studying and found out that I had a singular addictive personality for the internet.
Nowadays even thought the internet is an interesting and useful tool in my life, it is not the be all and end all as I really do value face to face contact with people and actually going out and about. I do however rely on the net and www for communication with relatives overseas, selling and buying items on eBay and banking. Which when I surmise means that it really is part of my everyday life and would feel slightly disconnected if it wasn't around. Perplexing isn't it.

 (app.2) Topic 1.1: I want my mp3's

Thread – economy, community, power and identity
Author: Laura Herbert
Posted date: Sunday, September 5, 2010 3:47:07 PM WST
Last modified date: Sunday, September 5, 2010 3:47:07 PM WST
"At what age did you discover music? Was it inspired or directionalised by the people that were around you at the time? Do you now share your iPod playlist with others and if so, how much has it changed over the years?
I'm asking this question in relation to the podcast: I want my MP'3s. As I have noticed over the years that my relationship with music has certainly altered, that my consumption has become more personal and internalised since my use of an iPod. Me and my music against the world. Laura"

(app.2a)
Author: Andrew W
Posted date: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 10:09:11 AM WST
Last modified date: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 10:09:11 AM WST

"Hi Laura,

Some good questions posed. For me, I listened to music casually until the early 80s when a friend introduced me to Pink Floyd's The Wall. This changed my listening of music from singles to complete albums, thus making music more of an experience for the senses.

Initially, I resisted the move over to iPods and the concept of iTunes. Sadly, now, I am addicted to both and much poorer for it!! The ability to sample music on iTunes reintroduced the concept of buying single songs again, however, I remain an album person.  My music tastes, however, have been forever changed by the internet and the vast array of information and media available, connecting you with the various genres and individual bands. I listen to different playlists depending on the circumstances.  The portability simply allows the same music to be played irrespective of location, and this is, in my view, a wonderful thing. Andrew"

Author: Laura Herbert
Posted date: Thursday, September 9, 2010 3:45:41 PM WST
Last modified date: Thursday, September 9, 2010 3:45:41 PM WSTHi Andrew, would you consider the factor that the "age" of the person is relevant in purchasing a full album of songs? As economically the older the person the affluent they seem to be.

Author: Leah J
Posted date: Sunday, September 12, 2010 11:31:45 PM WST
Last modified date: Sunday, September 12, 2010 11:31:45 PM WST

"Radio: big time flicker
Nightclub: time to head to the bar/bathroom
Elevator: ahhh trapped!
But I guess after those 7 exposures that were explained in the futurehitdna.com article, i'll be hooked like everyone else as long as the music is in my taste sphere of course :). Leah"

Author: Andrew W
Posted date: Thursday, September 9, 2010 6:03:23 PM WST
Last modified date: Thursday, September 9, 2010 6:03:23 PM WST

"Potentially this may be an influence. It could also be as Laughey (2007) describes as the difference between the intensive and casual listener. I tended to listen to albums for a more complete music experience, rather than "compilation" listening. Having said that...I love the playlists now as well, probably because I can select my own compilations. There were always several songs on the "Best Hits..." CDs that were decidedly irritating. Andrew"

(app.3) Topic 1.4: Health: What my doctor didn't tell me

Author: Charmaine S
Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 2:45:44 AM WST

Subject: RE: Health Online 

"I have used the Internet for many ailments for both myself and my pets. Being a stage two "cyberchondriac" is a little alarming, though it has been useful at times, for my health care providers and veterinarians.
My sister is a vet and she encounters a lot of pet owners who give "online diagnoses" when examining her patients. Some of it is completely off base and can hinder her patient diagnosis and after care.
While I do love to look up and see if I can determine what is wrong with me, it seems only for minor medical attention or how others deal with the common cold and maybe how to stretch out a sore muscle or what to do when you sprain something. It's not like I'm going to perform a tracheotomy or open heart surgery or decide I need to go on chemotherapy for the lump in my throat. I definitely make sure any serious issues are address forthwith with the trained professionals.
Information can be dangerous in the wrong hands... Charmaine"

(app.3a)

Author: Laura Herbert
Posted date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 12:16:15 PM WST
Last modified date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 12:16:15 PM WST

"I have to agree with you Charmaine, a little bit of information in the wrong hands goes (unfortunately) a long long way. Self diagnosis (even for a doctor) is crazy.
I have to admit that I have been on line to follow up what my doctor has told me, as sometimes the www information is a lot clearer than what he has talked about, but even reading that type of information can make a person worse (what did Tim call it "cyberchondriac") by default. Having worked in the fitness industry for many years and working with people who were rehabilitating from injury and illness I have made use of some medical web sites. One in particular (which is also a learning site) is http://www.medscape.com/  It allowed me to (without picking the client's brain, so many questions, so much personal intrusion.) hear what the client had to say but then go and verify it.
Cyberchondriac: do they bulk bill via Medicare if this is a legitimate psychosis?"

(app.4) Topic 1.4: Health, what my doctor didn't tell me.

Subject RE: Health Questionnaires – Good or Bad?
Author: Grant B
Date: Thursday, September 16, 2010 11:43:13 AM WST

Subject: Health Questionaires - Good or Bad? 
"I was watching a British medical TV show last night and one of the segments discussed Adult Autism. The host stated he completed an 'online Autism test', which caught my attention as I could see a relation to the health module we are studying. The Autism-Spectrum Quotient or "AQ test" is available at the link http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html Also, a more local site is the Australian Depression website, Beyond Blue, which also has several online questionnaires relating to 'symptoms of depression' http://www.beyondblue.org.au/ Do you feel these types of questionnaires are helpful or more potentially harmful? By the way, here is the fine print at the base of the website "The information presented on this website is general and not a substitute for professional advice. Refer to the beyondblue Website Terms of Use. The information is current at the time it was published. beyondblue regularly reviews this information. beyondblue expressly disclaims any and all liability for any loss or damage (whether direct, indirect or consequential, including in negligence) suffered or incurred by any person relying on this information including as a result of any omission, inadequacy, insufficiency or inaccuracy in its content."
Is it expected a person potentially suffering mental illness will read the fine print? Grant"

Author: Laura Herbert
Posted date: Monday, September 20, 2010 6:23:55 AM WST
Last modified date: Monday, September 20, 2010 6:23:55 AM WST

Hi Grant, interesting that you mention Beyondblue, I investigated that site last night and like yourself discovered the questionnaire. I feel that even thought the site has great potential and is extremely useful to those already suffering from pre diagnosed depressive disorders there is a problem with that questionnaire in that it is asking you to self diagnose your symptoms. As we all know self diagnosis is opening up a whole can of worms for the lay person, from what I can gather with observation, it can send a person either to a doctor with imagined symptoms and receive un necessary medications which in itself causes problems (e.g. Lindsey Lowan in the news for receiving the wrong meds) or cause a person to withdraw from actual required help thus they become secretive and the problem steamrolls putting pressure on family and friends.
I am probably with the rest of the reading world and don't necessarily read the fine print on everything. Two reasons, the first is that it's usually so small it's hard to read and it's bypassed and the other is the majority of disclaimers usually disclaim all liability for information. (Why give the information in the first place then?)

Author: Tim D
Posted date: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 2:18:10 PM WST
Last modified date: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 2:18:10 PM WST

 "Hi Laura
Self diagnosis is encouraged by Doctors. Women are constantly reminded to check their breasts and even if they think their symptoms are imagined, those women are encouraged to seek medical attention. I would also like to think medications are not dispensed based on patient's self diagnosis, but that doctors treat their patients concerns with dignity.
As for Lindsay Lohan, hmmm .... no comment. Tim"

Posted date: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 2:43:31 PM WST
Last modified date: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 2:43:31 PM WST

"Oh, and by the way, did you take the test ... I did and found it hard to answer the questions objectively knowing what answer an autistic person may be expected to give. I got a score of 20.0012343212134445, and because I'm not autistic, we can round that down to 20! Tim"

(app.5) Topic 2.1: Power and Economy

Subject: Readings and Lectures

Author: Katrina C
Posted date: Friday, October 15, 2010 5:37:03 AM WST
Last modified date: Friday, October 15, 2010 5:37:03 AM WST
Subject: RE: Readings and Lectures

"The article "Political economy, power and new media" was a little bit of a letdown. Whenever it was starting to get into economy and power, the author would end it with "needs more research in this area." But towards to end when they get into Open Source software was interesting. In my opinion, Open Source has the potential to reduce the cost of software for consumers. I personally have used Joomla! and Wordpress which are both open source platforms giving users the ability to create their own CMS websites, with unlimited possibilities of what they want to put in their sites. I work on a Mac platform and have downloaded a many open source software for FTP, Direct Mailing, DVD burning etc and Firefox for internet browsing. http://www.opensourcemac.org/ Open Source is becoming the powerhouse of the internet where many people are already using these softwares to help their businesses and personal life. To add to this article it would have been good if they touched on the phenomenon of Apps and the future of the Smartphone and Apps. I feel as more and more people adopt the new technology (as the price comes down more people will adopt it) the popularity of Apps will grow and business' will not just have to have web presence, but an App as well. Katrina"

Author: Laura Herbert
Posted date: Friday, October 15, 2010 1:02:04 PM WST
Last modified date: Friday, October 15, 2010 1:02:04 PM WST

Laura: "In the article "Political economy, power and new media", it was interesting to note that the internet is affected by economy, "The rate of entry of new dot coms is now being tempered by disaffected investors and by a general downturn in the rate of investment in digital technologies." (pg.96). I am assuming from the readings and research that we have done for the course that the internet is a business (a very big multi dimensional conglomerate) and as such economic down turn and upswing create discord across the broad financial foundation platform. The article was a little frustrating in respect (and I agree with Katrina on this) that whenever it looked like the author was getting into more depth on subjects such as economy or new and old media innovation, the matter was left unresolved with "we need comparable empirical Studies" or "more research is needed". What I found quite interesting in the conclusion is the summation of "the way that power is embedded in new media practices and influences how people's lives are being mediated by new media". Quite ponderous that it seems a reality now that people live their lives by new media, phones - twitter/Facebook, internet cafes and the like, so why shouldn't the large corporations utilise that factor and economise on it. Laura"

(app.5a)

Author: Laura Herbert
Posted date: Monday, October 18, 2010 4:47:50 AM WST
Last modified date: Monday, October 18, 2010 4:47:50 AM WST

Subject: RE: Internet Access
Power operates in many ways on the Internet; let's take one example, that of Internet access, to discuss power (no more than half a page).
We are invited to discuss the possible limits to Internet access this week with these 3 questions to focus on:
1.Are there limits to when, what (sites), how much, and where you access the Internet?
There are always going to be limits to everything on the internet. Access is highly dependent on an internet provider e.g. Bigpond, Dodo and others and what plans are available and cost/affordability. Areas throughout Australia have different levels and different means of access i.e. wifi, wireless, satellite, cable. Tasmania for example now has broad coverage of ADSL2, although only in major centres of population. We are lucky in Australia to not have major government censorship to internet sites; personally, I believe it is a parent's responsibility to control what's viewed at home.
2.How can you transgress those limits and what are the possible consequences?
Location: Using the parental censorship as an example, one house hold's level of what is deemed acceptable viewing is not always the same as other households. Children may view what I as a parent consider explicit or high violence on a website such as YouTube at someone else's residence. The consequence. Child not allowed back to the house without discussion with supervising adults over viewing content.
3.Is it possible to lose your access and what are the ways this might happen?
Yes of course it is possible to lose access to the internet  for example i.e. non payment of internet access account, power outage, change of residence to area that does not have coverage, court order stating probable incarceration if found using internet access.

Consider the access of people in other places and positions after you have thought about your own access. Does access vary?
I reside in Tasmania. We have varying degrees of internet capability and providers. The government spent a great deal of money laying internet cables in the high population areas that provide ADSL2 access speed. Albeit from conversations with Bigpond call centre employees ADSL2 speed is dependent on how close to the telephone exchange "box" your residence actually is.


Note: Minor spelling mistakes, grammar and simple formatting corrected for continuity of this document.

Net 102 Topic 2.3 The Relationship between Society and Technology

Internet Studies 102/502: The Internet and Everyday Life Laura's notes


Topic 2.3: The relationship between Society and Technology
Laura's notes

In this topic, we unpack some of the common assumptions when people talk about the changes wrought by the Internet upon society. In previous topics in this unit, as well as wider society, you often find the phrase, "The Internet has changed... (something in society)." This is a simplification of the relationship between technological change and society, and it is important, at this point, to think about the relationship between the Internet and society a little more. The position that this unit is taking is that social forces and the Internet mutually affect each other. Communication technologies may have qualities that encourage a certain form of communication and relationships between the people communicating, and hence can bring about tremendous changes in society. However, technology is not some independent force that changes society. Rather, technological development is influenced by society and people in that society, the course a technology takes depends upon financial, cultural, and other considerations.READ

 Williams, R. & Edge, R. (1997). What is the Social Shaping of Technology?. The Research Centre for Social Science.These authors criticise the exaggeration of the inherent qualities of technology. What is SST? What is technological determinism? What does SST offer in contrast?

"This paper reviews the body of research that addresses `the social shaping of technology' (SST) (MacKenzie & Wajcman 1985). In contrast to traditional approaches which only addressed the outcomes or 'impacts' of technological change, this work examines the content of technology and the particular processes involved in innovation. We highlight the growth of socio-economic research falling within this very broad definition of SST. It explores a range of factors - organisational, political, economic and cultural - which pattern the design and implementation of technology.

SST has gained increasing recognition in recent years, particularly in the UK and Europe, as a valuable research focus, for its broader import for the scientific and policy claims of social sciences. SST is seen as playing a positive role in integrating natural and social science concerns; in offering a greater understanding of the relationship between scientific excellence, technological innovation and economic and social well-being; and in broadening the policy agenda, for example in the promotion and management of technological change (European Science Foundation/Economic and Social Research Council 1991, Newby 1992)." (Williams, 1997)

Laura: quite a difficult article to read and understand from a lay perspecitive, I actually lost interest a couple of times and had to force myself to finish reading .
AND EITHER:
 An Nguyen, "The Interaction between Technologies and Society: Lessons Learnt from 160 Evolutionary Years of Online New Services ," First Monday, 12(3). (Archived by WebCite).This article provides an in-depth analysis of the development of online news from a SST perspective; it illustrates how technological potential is affected the social environment. Can you apply this to other internet technologies?
OR
 Micah M. White, "Facebook Suicide ," Adbusters, June 4, 2008. Archived by WebCite.This piece for an activist magazine issues a call for to leave Facebook; read the comments as well. What relationships between the control of our social networking information (power), community, identity, profit (economy) and privacy does this highlight?
Laura: An interesting article concerning Facebook's direction towards member consumerism and financial gain.

Also watch The social network. (a 2 hour movie)


DISCUSS

1. With reference to Facebook, an online game, or any other Internet application or technology, look into how the developers and users negotiate its development:
   1. Are there examples of the developers and the users disagreeing with some change or other? What was the outcome of these?
   2. Have the people using the application found uses that the developers may not have anticipated?
   
    

Langdon Winner asks, in the title of his influential book chapter, "Do artefacts have politics?" In other words, are technologies neutral? He suggests in response: "What matters is not technology itself, but the social or economic system in which it is embedded" (1986, p.1). How true is this, in your experience, and through studying this unit?

How Are Companies Leveraging Social Media?

How Are Companies Leveraging Social Media?

The State of YouTube

The State of YouTube

How Important Have Apps Become?

How Important Have Apps Become?

The Evolution of the Geek

The Evolution of the Geek

The 2010 Social Networking Map

The 2010 Social Networking Map

Net 102 – Topic 2.1 Power and Economy

Internet Studies 102/502: The Internet and Everyday Life

 Net 102

 Topic 2.1: Power and Economy
Having built up a collection of experiences from a variety of perspectives, including personal, scholarly, journalistic and so forth, we now look into how these illuminate different facets of the Internet's relationship to society and ourselves: community, economy, power and identity. By this time, you would have, through your reading, work on your first essay and discussions with others, accumulated a fair few number of examples of changes to everyday life mediated by the Internet. These were accumulated via different topics (sex, health etc). You were also asked to organise your thinking along four main analytical areas: community, power, economy and identity. Now, we've come to the point where we review these categories and how each topic has illustrated some aspect of how daily life is intertwined with the Internet in terms of identity, community, politics and the economy. You will be presented with how some other people have written and studied the Internet in terms of these themes, in order to make broader connections with your own work. (Curtin, 2010)

 READ

Brendan Gilbert et al., "Web Content/Social Networking," Blog, Corporate Power in New Media, May 14, 2008. Archived by WebCite.
This student blog states, "People's barriers are down and they fail to realize the extent to which corporations affect their online behavior". How true is this statement?

Mansell, R. (2004). Political Economy, Power and New Media. New Media & Society, 6(1), 96-105. In E-Reserve.This scholarly article makes the case for analysis and research into the political and economical aspects of the Internet. Note down the reasons Mansell gives and think of examples to illustrate.

DISCUSS

1. Power operates in many ways on the Internet, let's take one example, that of Internet access, to discuss power (no more than half a page):
   1. Are there limits to when, what (sites), how much, and where you access the Internet?
   2. How can you transgress those limits and what are the possible consequences?
   3. Is it possible to lose your access and what are the ways this might happen?
2. How do economic relationships conflict with or support existing power structures through the Internet? Choose an example from your first module and discuss on the discussion boards.

Submission to discussion board: Laura Herbert
In the article "Political economy, power and new media", it was interesting to note that the internet is affected by economy, "The rate of entry of new dot com's is now being tempered by disaffected investors and by a general downturn in the rate of investment in digital technologies."(pg96). I am assuming from the readings and research that we have done for the course that the internet is a business (a very big multi dimensional conglomerate) and as such economic down turn and upswing create discord across the broad financial foundation platform. The article was a little frustrating in respect (and I agree with Katrina on this) that whenever it looked like the author was getting into more depth on subjects such as economy or new and old media innovation, the matter was left unresolved with "we need comparable empirical Studies" or "more research is needed". What I found quite interesting in the conclusion is the summation of "the way that power is embedded in new media practices and influences how people's lives are being mediated by new media". Quite ponderous that it seems a reality now that people live their lives by new media, phones - twitter/Facebook, internet cafe's and the like, so why shouldn't the large corporations utilise that factor and economise on it.

Net 102 Topic 1.6 Politics: Julia Gillard is My Facebook friend. Task 1.4 (assignment 1)

Net 102 Week 4 Topic 1.6: Politics: Julia Gillard is My Facebook Friend



TASK 1.4 (ASSIGNMENT 1):



Navigate around and discuss two of the following sites in terms of the kinds of involvement they encourage. Your initial writing for this topic should not be above 500 words, although it is fine for notes and extracts from the discussion, and further reflection, to take you over this limit: The two 'bold' links below are the ones that I will be discussing.

• www.pm.gov.au
  
• www.tonyabbott.com.au
  
• www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au
  
• www.getup.org.au
  

Getup.org: promotes themselves as an independent political movement (activist group) whose main role is to educate Australians on current political issues, greater social responsibility and encourage voting. Staffed by volunteers and a core team of employed staff they are located in Sydney with over 370 000 members (384 061 at time of writing). They conduct research on new political campaigns that interest their members and believe in a shared progressive value system. Their use of media savvy (parody) adverts have attracted national television coverage and repeated plays via the web side YouTube and in the last Federal election (2010) the group ran over 700 television ads.


Their own web site http://www.getup.org.au/ has a link Channel GetUp!A YouTube hosted medium where anyone (current subscribers 1447 at time of writing) can view the majority of their many focus interest and parody clips.
As you navigate around the site you will come across headings such as GetUp! in the News, Take Action! and The latest! which draw the reader's attention.


As GetUp is a volunteer organisation they have no support financially from the current government, instead relying on donations from members and the public to help fund their cause. Membership: Joining is simple and free
Get up encourages community and as such host GetTogethers where members are encouraged to come together in organised gatherings. In navigating to the supplied map I was disappointed to find that there are no groups in Tasmania but that could possibly change in the near future.


After viewing and interacting with GetUp, tonyabbot.com, Tony Abbot's constituent site, Welcome to Warringah, is not as media connected as GetUp, which for a federal member of parliament is quite disappointing. When you first navigate to the site you are greeted with rotating photos of Tony Abbot and his related causes and concerns, if you click on a prominent glow lit photo it will that take you to another web page that hosts subjects like 'Latest press release, Tell us what YOU think' and Tony's eNewsletter (which you can sign up for).


The site does encourage accessibility with RSS, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr links. I was interested to learn that Tony Abbot tweeted but from observation the last tweet was 35+ days ago, during the federal election. The Flickr photos are also related to that time period. When I accessed the blog page the last date was Friday 18^th of June 2010 which compels me to think that the majority of the site appears to have not been kept up to date with exception to the Press Release section (latest post 14^th September 2010).
I would have to say that the site really doesn't encourage me to visit and interact the way GetUp does, it appears quite static and more like an advertisement for Tony Abbot political office, which it is.


Reference


YouTube GetUp election report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mD4P5z1Ssk&feature=player_embedded
(4,157 views at time of writing 23/10/2010)
Tony Abbot http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/


GetUp http://www.getup.org.au/