Welcome to the future

So correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding of the ‘internet of things’ is an object being connected to the internet.  This could vary from a phone, radio, play station/xbox machine etc and even TV (Im sure there are heaps of other things I could have listed but i feel that you get the idea). This enables them to become sociable and allows them to have multipurpose.

So I’m sure you have all seen the ad for the NetChef. I feel that this is a perfect example for the ‘internet of things’. The NetChef acts like a cook book that also connects to the internet allowing you to find other recopies, conversion charts etc.

By being connected to the internet, the NetChef enables users to achieve multiple goals/task at once. This can also be achieved through smart phones, game consoles, TV’s. And as the video in the lecture showed, most things can be connect to one another and all you need to do is push a remote (or tap an ipad)

Most people (especially generation y) will see the ‘internet of things’ as a beneficial thing. Everything will be connected. Everything will be multipurpose. But is that what we really what. Is there ever a time where you just want to be by yourself and not be connected? Do you ever want to get away from society? Maybe in the future these thoughts won’t even be possible, we may be continuously connected to one another, even if we don’t like it. 

Google: Don’t be evil

So im not really sure what to discuss for this week’s topic. Do we talk about the freedom provided to us from smart phones? The history of the Smartphone? Or which is better, Apple or Android?
I personally prefer Android. I have dropped my phone a millions time and hasn’t even cracked the screen and yet my fellow iphone friends all seem to have shattered screens.
Android 1 iphone 0
The smartphone has completely changed our lives and the way we access things. We can do our banking, we can skype and all we have to do is tap the screen. Although before the smartphone, our lives weren’t actually hard but now everything is much simpler. Before we had to be sitting at the computer and connect to the internet but now it’s all don’t automatically for us, in the palm of our hand.
I could discuses with you about how Google has played a major part in these developments, but i thought the reading was a bit confusing and didn’t contain really any decent information that I found applicable. The only thing I gained from it is that not only do we allow smartphones to rule our live but we also allow for Google to do the same. Write now I’m typing this on Google Chrome, then I’ll check my Gmail, ill research my assignment on Google News and Scholar and then I’ll find directions to the club in Sydney with Google Maps. (And I haven’t even covered everything Google does)
You could possible say that our lives are in the hands of Google.
We could look closer into how smartphones are taking over our live and how that has changed so much for an already lazy generation but what about the mastermind behind it all?

There is more to Twitter than stalking

Who knew that twitter had a greater use then allowing us to stalk Miley Cyrus. Im sorry but Miley promoting her new CD is NOT new! Someone setting themself on fire as a result of abuse fromt he government is real news. It has enabled millions is civilians throughout the Middle East and North Africa to speak out against government corruptions. 

The use of twitter throughout the Arab Springs has been continuously debated over the past few years and will continue to be debated. Some academics including Malcolm Gladwell, believe that twitter hasnt had the effect that everyone believes. Gladwell feels that is been overblown.

I dont care if he is an academic, i think he is wrong.

I dont belive that twitter started these revolutions, but i do belive it was a key tool in giving voiceless people a voice. it enabled them to speak out through online media platforms that cannot be controlled by the government. Twitter enables people thorughout the globe to become aware fo the atrocities occuring throughout these countries. Twitter and social media connects millions of people throughout the world every second. As i type this, my twitter feed is being over run about the Lybian President being Kidnapped. News programs cover these thing in 30 seconds, how on earth can we be fulling informed about events if we only hear about it for 30secs?

My main question is… If social media/ twitter has not effect, cannot bring political change, then why did the governments fear it so much? Why did the government feel that is was necessary to hack into account and deleat them? Why did Egyptians officials arrest a man over creating a FB group? Why was in the internet shutdown in Egypt?

Twitter alone doesnt have much of an impact but when its combined with tradition revolutionary tools, it can be powerful and enable their messages of protest to be projected throughout the world.

Governments clearly fear this tool, so isnt that evidence enought that is has an effect?

The truth is out there

Has your mum ever told you that if you didnt have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all? Well maybe governments need take their mothers advice. If governments are doing things that they don’t want people finding out about then maybe it’s a good indication that they shouldn’t be doing it. There are countless example throughout the past decades of government cover-ups, to only have to truth leak out later. During the Vietnam War, President Richard Nixon lied about the US bombing in Cambodia, once this information was released to the public, over 700 school, universities and colleges closed due to protests.

We need whistleblowers. We need people to tell us what government’s wont. We need people to ask the hard questions that politicians can’t avoid. ‘Collateral Damage’ did just that. As much as the government tried they couldn’t deny the footage of the soldiers killing civilians,
I don’t see Julian Assange and the other whistleblowers as criminals. To me they are mere truth tellers and they overcome any obstacle (or firewall) to get the truth out there. They are allowing us to be fully informed, instead of being blinded by ignorance.

I understand the legal issues of hacking into government agencies etc but it’s not as if they are stealing money from the government or disarming their military, all they are doing is releasing the truth.

The way I understand it, governments fear what they can’t control or stop, and WikiLeak is just that. Wikileaks can’t be easily be dismantled 9the internet would basically need to be pulled apart if someone tried to do end Wikileaks) and even if this is, many other hactivists will continue their work. The internet has given us freedom of expression and curiosity and individuals are using this to try and seek the truth.

Has there being any severe consequences from doing this?

Has anyone been killed or attacked as a result of WikiLeaks? (I have not heard of this happing, but if anyone does know if this has occurred, send me a link).
As the X Files taught me, the truth is out there’ and a geeky, anti-social tween is going to find it.

I’m so glad I didn’t listen to my parents…

Have you ever watched a musical like Glee and someone just starts randomly singing? It’s quite odd, it has no meaning and I’m not going to lie, but it can be quite painful to watch. But then everyone else magically joins in and become an ensemble, you start to enjoy it and it all being to make sense.

The way I see it, twitter is similar to this.

If you just read one tweet, it has no real meaning, it may not even be true and usually we just disregard it. But if we see a whole twitter feed about a certain topic, we being to realise its purpose. Axel Bruns (2009) put it kind of perfectly when he said it’s a ‘suspension bridge made out of pebbles’.

This suspension bridge demonstrates the effect that citizen journalism has upon an event. Citizen journalism invited us to participate, it plays on our desire to always talk back to someone we disagree with.  (Isn’t it good we never listen to our parent about not talking back, otherwise citizen journalism might not be what it is today?) When it comes up on our screen it just j=look like an ordinary twitter feed or comment section but if we look closely at the content we are actually able to gain an understanding of current event, issues and debates.

When I first became a internet addicted teenager, my parents fear that this would prevent me from learning about the world, give me square eyes and somehow hinder my ability to participate in the outside world. But I give me much pride to say THEY WERE WRONG!

So far I have not got square eyes. I am more educated and in tune with the world than if I actually went outside and got fresh air. I am continually participating with online discussions, and I can achieve all this just through the use of twitter. If one website can give so many individuals a voice then what about the rest of the internet, there are endless possibilities to get our voice out there and get our point across.

 

 

 

Dear Kindle, DON’T TAKE AWAY MY BOOKS!

Like most of you, I grew up reading fairy-tales and various other books. For me, it was always exciting to start reading a new book, whether it is Harry Potter, Lord of the Ring or anything really. When I was little all I did read, anything and everything (well when I wasn’t fighting with my brother or playing in the mud) and I loved walking into book stores and walking around to the various sections and just looking at all the books, all the possibilities.

 This is the beauty of the publishing industry.

 They created these amazing things with exciting covers and catching headlines. Not only did they just publish books, but also magazines. No matter how easy I can access it online, nothing with take away the joy of reading the New Idea magazine while in-line at Woolworths.

But, I am a member of Gen Y so basically I will accept any form of technology that is thrust upon me, especially if it’s online. I love Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, GPS, shopping online and pirate bay.  Now everything is at my fingertips. But the more I realise this, the more I realise I don’t want it to be all that easy. Where is the excitement of going shopping in a Saturday with your girlfriends, the joy of finding a vintage version of Jane Austin in a second hand book store?

But the one thing I just can’t get a grasp of is technology like the Kindle.  Yes you can have all your books in one spot and they are cheaper than buying from a store but that’s not fun. It takes the excitement away from going in to a book store, a new one or a vintage one and discovering something you wouldn’t normally pick up. Although book stores can only hold so many books and will only stock the ones that will sell the fastest. I believe this is just one thing that technology can’t take over. Sure the notion still stand that it’s so much cheaper to produce it online but there is no thill in it.  

 

Don’t we all want to have that magical scene like in Definitely, Maybe (2008).. I bet Hollywood would never make a scene like this using a Kindle… Why? Its not exciting, there is no thrill and no sentimental attachment to a Kindle like there is with books.

 http://www.anyclip.com/movies/definitely-maybe/jane-eyre-book/#!quotes/

 

When technology reproduces…

So after reading three highly repetitive articles on convergence media, I only took one thing away from those 50+ pages… all it is, is technology reproducing and making little technological babies. Wether is the combination of a camera, computer and a phone all in one or having a car with a DVD player.
Deuze (2007) mentioned the idea of ‘prosumers’, the notion of an individual not only consuming media but producing it. To me this is probably the nest form of convergence. Everyone does it, whether they realise or not. You’re doing it right now. You do it when your post of Facebook or Twitter. Even commenting on this blog is a form on presuming.
Jenkins (2004) states how it alters the relationship between existing technologies, it impacts the way we consume media.
WHEN NEW AND OLD MEDIA COLLIDES!
By why does any of this even matter? Who cares? Everyone multitasks when they are online, so why is it such a big deal.
It matters because it’s altering our way of life, whether we like it or not, when technology and media changes our lives slightly alter and if media and technology keep converging then what will our future hold? Everyone used to think about 5 years ago that phones can do everything possible but oh no look they keep adding stuff. Technology is ever changing. This continual change makes our future seem uncertain. How much further can technology go?

I don’t care what copyright says, I’m recording the Happy Birthday song and putting it in Facebook!

In today’s current society copyright is both a burden and a saviour. It just depends which one applies to you. To those who write books, plays, music or want to come up with any original ideas then they need these laws to protect them and their work.  This is where copyright become there savoir. As it was pointed out by Ted in the lecture, once Charles Dickens published a book, people would ship a copy of it off to the US where they made copies, spreading Dickens’s stories around without paying for any royalties.  Without copyright there would be no original ideas.

I’m guilty of abusing copyright; I’m pretty sure in not the only one. Who hasn’t downloaded a movie or the latest episode of Breaking Bad and shared it with your friends. Who hasn’t sang Happy Birthday and posted the video on Facebook. As a 20 year old internet obsessed university student, I love being able to go on piratebay.com or YouTube MP3 converter to get free music, movies and TV shows as soon as they have been released. This is where copyright becomes a burden. The ability to do these thing is what one of the many beauties of the internet. Freedom. The ability to have access to anything at the click of a button. Information wants to be free but if it’s free then we will be depriving the world of original ideas. If we keep abusing the freedoms of the internet then we not only sacrifice original ideas but also the payment of royalties to the people that earned it.

So what do we do? Do we keep enjoying the freedoms of the internet, while also depriving artists and writers of the royalties they deserve? Or do we start paying every time we sing happy birthday? The way I see it, copyright is both a burden and a saviour. 

Corporate Facebook

Think of how you would traditionally apply for a job. It typically involved a suit and tie, resume and a nervous interview.  And yes most of the time you will go for a job it will be similar to this. But due to the magical mystic world of networking and cyberspace, the job markets it starting to change. The changes are not only occurring in how we apply for jobs, but also how we find out about jobs and even the job itself. More and more jobs are revolving around social media. More and more jobs are being found as a result of social media. This is where is introduce you to corporate Facebook, more commonly known as LinkedIn. This amazing new addition to social media has already resulted in thousands of jobs. The beauty of LinkedIn is it allows you to do all the scary job application stuff form the safety of your computer. You put your resume up there, you connect with companies and CEO’s from an industry you wish to venture into.

A few years ago LinkedIn and many other forms of social media didn’t exist. They have brought about so much change that we didn’t think possible. Initially social media just seemed link a fun thing so chat to people, play games and follow celebrities. But social media isn’t just fun and games; social media is changing the way we work. Maybe even soon our tradition ways in applying for a job will cease to exist.  

 

Its a little bit more than just cat videos

When someone says cyberspace I just think of the internet, Google, computers and all that jazz but now I don’t just see it as the awesome, mystic thing that brings me Facebook and cat videos. It is so much more. Borders have been removed. There are no limitations or restrictions on communication. We now have the ability to connect with anyone anywhere in the world at any time of day.  

Dyson, Barlow and Kelly all discuss their own perspective of the freedom of cyberspace.

After clawing through some not so subtle patriotism, Dyson refers to cyberspace as an ecosystem, rather than a machine. Throughout his article, Dyson discusses the demassification of society and the ability to customize one’s knowledge. It well known that cyberspace enables us to find information and websites that we want to see, what we want to read. That is the beauty of the internet. Instead of watching the evening new and hearing stories that you may not be interested in or what to know now about, this is where the internet comes in. You are free to find out what you want at the click of a button. It’s all about the niche. Sadly the whole article just seem a bit to patriotic for my liking. I don’t think that you can discuss the freedom, borderless society that cyberspace brings and them reference the American dream and the land of the free throughout the entire article.

The Kelly article just frustrated me. Throughout the article there were good point about the business of cyberspace but it just seemed to be lost throughout paragraph and paragraph of economic jumbles. If the article was simplified down then it would be much easier to discuss the main points.

And then there was Barlow. This short and sweet article just got to the point without key messages being lost among a jumble of computer- ish words. The idea of having access to this amazing creation without being questioned on gender, race, privilege etc is an increadable thing that hasn’t been seen before (well not on this scale anyway).

The thing I love the most about the internet/cyberspace or whatever you what to call it, is the freedom and its unlimited power that rejects no- one and connects the entire world through a bunch of cables and wires.