New Media week 2 Topic2

The Seminar forum enables us to find out what new posts students have put on their blogs. The forum has enabled us to become interactive users of the media, in this case for academic purposes. To some degree the online forum is an online conversation, for example if I make a comment on the forum they are usually responded to by other students and Dave our Tutor. In this sense like neo liberalism suggests, new media allows for greater “engagement” with media texts.” Blogs allow readers to really think about a persons point of view and critically access it, giving a greater sense of “independent relation to sources of knowledge” unlike a book as neo liberism suggests. I suppose as regards my expression within the forum it is a lot more carefully filtered, especially because of the interactive rules of engagement. In this sense “user choice” is restricted to what you choose to write. I believe that I interact differently on the forum than what I would in a face-to-face interaction. My comment on the forum and other peoples does not need immediate response. The replies to forums and blogs can take minute’s, hours and even days. Therefore with online interactivity there is much more freedom with reply. Whereas in a face to face interaction with a student within seminars replies are more or less immediate and they don’t tend to have restrictive barriers. Dave is in charge because he sets the rules of engagement for both forum and blogs. He chooses the type of language that is appropriative within our academic circle and so the sense of the internet allowing for “greater consumer choice” is undermined. At the same time the students are in charge of their own opinions, when the students reply to the blogs and forums online they are generally open ended within reason. Speech is much more free flow within general seminars, whereas writing down what your opinions are within blogs and forums are much more time consuming. I feel overall that i am media literate but in terms of the Internet I’m quite illiterate in comparison with other students.

New Media week 2 Topic 3

For the BBC Internet blog of 2008, the language used was much more relaxed involving texting language, slang and even emotive images. This language is different to the academic language used within my own blogs. In the case of the blogs found on the BBC Internet site about the BBC Iplayer, there were hypertexts that allowed you to go to the blogs of other bloggers online and gather information about their opinions on the Internet. Hypertexts therefore encourage a greater sense of interactivity within the Internet. Mainly because they allowed you to communicate with others as well as using their opinion and information at your disposal. Unlike a book hypertexts are not linear and so you are not restricted to one particular opinion and so they offer “a better model of consciousness than linear storage systems” (lister, 2003: 25). Hypertexts enable you to find blogs of people from across the world offering diverse opinions information, which is quite simply not the case for a book. Hypertexts enable you to gather further information on something particularly confusing by a click of a button. At the same time hypertexts allow you to have a grater freedom within the Internet of any particular subject than the thematic restrictions that hyperlinks carry.

New Media week 2 Topic 1 QD

From what I can gather from Bolter and Grusin "Remediation" they suggest that old media provides a basis or starting part for new media to draw upon. It appears that “communication, representation and expression,” is what new media posses from old media. For example television an apparent old media, is a major part of everyone’s life in some way, whether it be to watch a series continually or just for casual day to day viewing. It appears that television as a form of old media was extremely restrictive as regards what people could watch when they wanted. However, the immergence of the video and dvd recorder has changed this. The nature of programs haven't appeared to change on the Internet websites such as BBC iplayer, ITV, channel 40d etc. These online TV players have been used more pacifically in pinpointing adverts for their viewers on the internet. Mainly because for online viewers adverts are restricted for no more than three whereas the "old" TV adverts are various. Bolter and Grusin also seem to pinpoint progress as something inevitable and a “structural condition” of all media. They also suggest that both old and new media seem to be in competition with one another to improve itself, this seems to be characterstic of televisions Virgin Media. Remediation involves the involvement of old media within the new media, no longer is television restricted to the television but on the interent and even mobiles. In this sense remediation involves the "refashion" of "older media entirely while still making the presence of older media apparent." (Breuch, 2004: 8)

Week 2 Topic 1 QA

Windsows vista appears to be the new upgrade from windows XP. However these upgrades often seem to do more harm than good, with systems unable to cope with the technology. Windows need to keep their market going and so by appearing to offer something new, the upgrade to windows Vista does just this. Corporations such as windows represent their technology as “new” (Lister,2003: 9) and in doing so gives the impression that the technology is necessary. Thus as Lister suggests through the idea of “new”, consumers are given a false sense that the product is “cutting edge.” Instead corporations such as Windows simply create the ideology consumer’s need the update when this isn’t always the case. In big businesses the ideology of the new is a strategy used by these companies to keep their market flourishing. At the same time the idea of the “New” is to ensure that consumers continually buy into their products. As a result companies such as Window’s make a lot of money, “software applications make millions” (Manovich, 2002, 14). Suggesting the concept of the new is one that is ideologically driven in order to keep capitalist society in growth.

Week 2 Topic QB

The Internet provides us with the sense of interactivity in which we are able to make a choice, which is unlike “old media” such as television, newspapers etc. The positive aspects of “New Media” is felt to such a degree that there is and underlying feeling to “strengthen and defend New Media” (Regnery, 2007: 252). The internet gives a greater impression that you are able to put your own thoughts and feelings across on a world wide scale, as a result the Internet is “the greatest source of returning power to the people” (Regnery, 2007: 155). Internet thus gives the appearance of an online democracy. However, it appeasers that the concept of New Media is nothing other than a cover up, the true role of the Internet is something much more cynical. Although your views are put forward from news websites and blogs, the government still have the ability to put their own ideologies and power across. For example China 2005 saw the beginning of an idea of “inta-Chinese network” despite being “incredibly fast” it would be a “government-owned company, and easily filtered,” (Goldsmith and Wu, 2006: 102) consequently the Internet would no longer be democratic but governed by the elite.

Week 2 Topic QB continued

Additionally, there are serious and even worrying implications to being online, the revealing of your personal identity to businesses on the internet for financial gain. Cookies are implemented on every site you go onto. They are allowed to see what you search for and therefore what sort of advertisement you require. Every minute of your life on the Internet is looked at; advertisers in a sense manipulate you into buying a particular product through pinpointing of their advertisements. Therefore the sense of choice from the Internet is not entirely true for Internet users.

Week 2 Topic 1 QC

In the past couple of years there has been a diverse change from traditional sources of shopping where one would physically go to shops and buy products. The emergence of online shopping has changed people’s social activities; no longer is there a need to step out of the house. Online shopping involves big chains such as Tesco, Adsa, etc which provide not only food but home furnishing too. Clothing stores, bathroom sites, bedding sites to mother care and many more are all easily accessible online. Especially interesting is the appearance of Amazon and Ebay, businesses that have been purely developed by the online world. These online sites have meant the world of shopping has never been so easily accessible at a touch of a button, these examples give the appearance of “progress.”

The internet is good for educational purposes giving university students’ easy access to the world of books and journals on the internet. Through the use of hypertext students can read from one text to another and make meaning of things by clicking on hypertexts for further explanation. The Internet as Lister suggests is a “place for forward thinking people to be,” (Lister et al, 11). At the same time negative effects also are inevitable with working online. For example wikipedia is not academically accepted because anyone can easily comment.

Week 2 Topic 1 QC

However, when looking at interactivity within websites on the Internet, democracy seems to be a bad thing. Freedom has enabled for child pornography and terrorist sites have become more common ground. Especially pinpointed are terrorists site that have been suggested to manipulate innocent Muslims into committing crimes more worryingly how to make bombs. As (Godwin, 2003:65) suggests there appeared to be a link “between ‘dangerous information on the net and the Oklahoma City bombing.” (although democratic its not progess)

Geobells Radio and Internet

With the rise of television and the internet the importance of radio has decreased. Mainly because it is no longer the only affordable informative and political device. Radio as Geobbells suggests was a political device. The Internet now has taken over radio’s political position “almost half of all Americans now get news over the internet” (Freeman and Thissu, 2003: 176). The Radio although easily accessible is not as world wide as the internet. The internet even involved in “encouraging the spread of small businesses ‘Net savvy’ special interest communities,” who are able to put across their own views. Inevitably these online communities are at the cost of “public commonwealth,” and so no longer is there ulitimate power of the elite.

Geobells p2

Goebbel believes that the radio appeals to the masses as is the hope for today’s latest medium the internet. The Internet is easily accessible to the masses, through the Library, Cafe shops within the home and at work etc. This availability means that the working classes can gather a greater understanding about the political views held by certain political parties. Therefore with the emergence of the internet members of society are able to communicate and even criticize the Goverment. It's is my opinion that because of the internet the Goverment are less influential than they were previously.
It’s apparent that to Geobbels the radio is a process that would enable the government to enforce their political views on the subordinate members of society who through the discourse of the Goverment as an operation of power, members of society are inevitably "constrained" (Storey, 2006: 101_. The Internet is a political device that is relatively inexpensive and with the power that money just can’t buy. The Ideology created involves the governments need for this control which Geobbels doesn't question. There is no questioning of the power of the government the ideology is that the radio is for the people a necessity. Discourse here involves the government's empowerment over members of society who act according to "social scripts."(Storey, 2006: 101)

Blog Spots and Chatrooms implications in Suicide?

The issue with chat rooms is that there are concerns about effects that blogs spots and chat rooms can have on those that are suicidal. The main problem with these sites is that they have in certain instances encouraged and supported people steps into suicide by “instructions on suicide methods”. These concerns are particularly interesting to me because of the effects that the Internet has on people through this form of virtual communication. They represent suicide as somewhat positive and the right action to take part. They tend to represent “suicide as solution for difficulties rather than itself being a problem.”(Hawton, 2005:300) This evidence surely shows the sheer power of the internet as a medium, but often with effects that are greatly negative.

Email and Chatrooms communication

New relationships can begin on online chat rooms that are pacifically designed for dating. “email, chatrooms” etc are used for “initiation and development of close personal relationships,” (Stafford, 2005) Sometimes these online relationships can turn into long loving relationships. These sites are helpful in that people find it much more easier and comfortable with one to one interaction over the Internet than that first interaction with a physical person which can often be daunting. But people who use these new media forms often “manipulate to presents positive picture of the self” (Stafford, 2005) and so the communication isn’t trustworthy or reality.

Myspace and msn are pushed as Facebook arrives

My Space and MSN were the forms of new media that most interested me. But with the emergence of Facebook, and its popularity with university students and going to Univeristy myself, Facebook became much more popular with me. Email is used however for more academic reasons, but at the same time I use hotmail if say my landlord needed to get in touch about important issues concerning rent. Not for anything particularly exciting though.

facebook and me

I find that Facebook is useful as it enables me to catch up with old friends and more importantly keep in touch with close friends and family, as established by the uses and griatification theory “Social integration needs” “strengthens contact with family, friends, and the world.” (Byrant and Heath, 2000) Allowing me to leave comments or having one to one conversations with friends if it’s really important.

This is my first post

Hello,

This is most definately a new experience for me, but after time i'm sure the process of blogging will become much easier.

I'm assuming that everybody is having difficulties in some way in getting used to blogging. As for many facebook and MSN have been the only forms of communication that have previosuly interested us.

Have fun blogging, oh and completely out of context but i advise everyone watch Twilight it's rather G with action, vampire and romance im sure it's one that all will love :)