Virtual Culture Insight

Last Blog

2006-05-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hey guy and girls,

This is my last blog for the semester, but I will definately further explore the art of blogging. I found that this process was very different to keeping a journal and it was also very useful during the discussion forums to refer back to. After changing the setup of my page I found that a lot of my blogs are missing and you need to go into the archives to find them which is a pain but they are there. (Just incase you can't find them John)

I just wanted to share that I think this exercise was very beneficial and also encourgaed me to engage and critique the lecture content. See ya guys and good luck on the exam.

Regards no longer the Virgin Blogger

Proximate Communities

2006-05-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Finally decided to write again because I was annoyed about losing my other post. Today we had our last online forum chat and it didn't seem to go as well as the first one last week. I think a lot of people had said as much as they could think of in the first chat.

Collective Interaction - place-based
Well in the proximate community discussion we spoke about the issue of Urban Villages and then got onto the weird topic of virtual pets. I found a really cute website that alows audiences to interact with their own virtual pet and personalise the features. The link is http://www.neopets.com/addpet.phtml?view=all and it looks very Japanese. I also has a look at the nintendo dogs game as everyone was talking about it http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p5944.htm looks very good, I can see why there was discussion.

Collective Interaction - geographically dispersed
Looking at Putnam and Pew's views it is obvious there is a direct disagreement when discussing the impact of technology upon society. Robert Putnam holds a very conservative view as he focuses his discussion upon the emergence of the selfish individual who doesn't dance with his/her partner. However Pew argues that businesses can use vitual communities to make more profit on line so this is good for society. He also argues that technology has also given rise to interaction between cross-relational and cross-generational individuals online.

Networked Interaction - geographically dispersed
Peer-to-peer communication for example online communities such as www.Hi5.com and www.myspace.com . These sites allow for individuals to create a network of individuals with the same interests and common ground so they can for friendships and relations. The act of social networking - e.g. friendstar.com

Network Interaction - place based
Discussion here discussed examples such as the mobile telephone where an individual would usually answer the home phone with their name but because the mobile is a personal device you no longer need to as most individuals who call know it is your phone. (Personalised social network) This is person-to-person instead of peer-to-peer. Here you can interact in many different activities while being in the one place. Lecture ecample: you can lecture, recieve a text message and do this while downloading your emails at the same time seamlessly.

Well that is my basic overview of the lecture material and how I interpreted it. I though this lecture was one of the most interesting this semester. Cheers, I'll try blog again soon.

So angry

2006-05-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

I just pushed the Back button and lost my awesome blog for today. I will have to post another day then. It discussed proximate communities and I even drew this diagram.

Well just thought I would say I really enjoyed todays Chat session and had more to say than I thought. Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

The Protocol Debate

2006-05-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

After attending Wednesday nights lecture I have been pondering many different ideas about the issue of governance and who is actually in control of our media usage habits. There is such a gap between the whole purpose of the Internet (non-hierarchical network) and the nature of Protocol (hierarchical).

Who believes that the Internet is used by young children for purposes that are illegal, to view pornographic material, chat to strangers or to seek out 18+ material? I think that most children use the Internet for educational purposes and to chat with friends they already have a promate relationship with. However I do know that there are a sample of young children that would use this tool to do such things and there are people online for the wrong reasons so I do believe the Internet needs to be regulated in more ways than one.

What I am concerned about is the power and control of the United States or ICANN on these types of issues. Who is to say that their Presidential system has the same values and beliefs as our Australian Government? They don't and they can not possibly, so how is it that they can regulate our usage or an individual from India for example. So what is next for the Internet and it's governance?

"The founding principal of the Net is control, not freedom. Control has existed from the beginning." (Galloway 142)

KCB201 Chat

2006-05-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Just at uni wasting time in the KCB201 Chatroom and learning how to use it. It is a great concept to use chatrooms to find out other students ideas and opinions about the reading and lecture material but I think it is also a disadvantage when we are being marked upon it. I discussed this with other individuals in the room and they all agreed.I suppose it is only worth 5% and you really just need to have some sort of interesting input to the discussion that relates the the subject material. All in all a very good idea and also demonstrates to us the change that technology is having upon our everyday lives.

It was also suprising to read in the newspaper that my old school, John Paul College allows students to use Ipod, mobile phones and other electronic devices while in class as they believe it is the only way to teach children these days. They think because students will study at home whilst listening to music, chatting on msn and reading their textbooks that it is appropriate to do this at school. This also ties into issues that I discuss in KCB301 with the idea of interactivity and utilising many different media at the same time. I guess at this moment I am a perfect example of this: blogging, chatting and checking my emails at the same time.

Virtual Community

2006-05-09T23:35:00.000-07:00

Hey guys & girls,

Just commenting on some other things I found on Hi5 the community space that I have been a part of for about half a year now. I don't think it is set up very well for the users who like to meet people with the same interests as I only just found out after 6 months that you can join interest groups. I joined the 'all ride Yamahas forever!!!' group because I thought they would all be passionate about their bikes and have some interesting this to say only to find that they are a bunch of old men with no clothes on, or older biker women or young females around the age of 22 with hardly any clothes on. I then decided to join the 'only Sexys!!!' group to see what they were talking about and it was full of people commenting on how sexy they were and how horny they were (go figure).

However it wasn't this that fasinated me, it was the lack of conversation and interaction between the users. There were about 650 members that had joined and not even 10% were utlising the service. I think the extra option to join the interest groups could have been left out in this community space or the space needs to be designed is such a way that makes it user friendly and easy to locate.

Here is the site if you are interested in joining. www.hi5.com

See you all in the lecture.

"Walled Gardens & Creative Commons"

2006-05-02T04:23:00.000-07:00

After thinking about this weeks reading 'The Grey Album' I began to think about content I come into contact with throughout my daily life that may involve issues in telation to 'copyright wars'. For instance my friend had a CD in his car that he had copied his favourtie songs onto in order to create an enjoyable mix of music while driving his car. This is because he does not like listening to the radio due to advertising breaks in the music and programming involving discussion such as the B105 morning crew. So in copying a number of mp3s onto one blank CD he is creating his own music listening experience without having to pay for it.

The problem with this however is that the owners of the music and the musicians are not recieving any benefit from this. Whether it be downloading free mp3s off the internet or simply owning an Ipod that stores thousands of songs, copyright laws are being tested and boundaries being cross by individuals all over the world. Another example that comes to mind in this situation is the copying of DVDs that are hired out from video stores. Brainstorming this idea I visioned the advertisment at the beginning of the movies that says "you wouldn't steal a car, or someones purse but burning DVDs is stealing".

I also on many occasions hear on the radio two songs being mixed together to create a new song, which in most cases is very enjoyable. The issue here is that in some cases the owners of the rights to these recording that are being re-released as mixes are not aware of its use. In these instances the creator of these new works is in breach of copyright laws. To avoid this situation individuals only need to pay an initial fee to use the content if they are given permission by the owners of the rights.

It was commented by Johnathan Ziltrain (as cited in Rimmer, 2005) that there is a need for revisions in copyright law. This is because in some instances individuals such as Disc Jockeys have provided the public with a transformative use of the original works. In this case the work or creator is protected by the defence of fair use.

So in todays technologiacally advanced world there are many tools for individuals to be innovative creators but there are many old laws that restrict our creative minds. This is my interpretation of what the lecture is implying "Walled gardens and creative commons". I believe this issue will not be resolved due to the changing nature of technology and the ease in which we are able to recreate and interact with our own entertainment!

VIRTUAL COMMUNITY Hi5

2006-04-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

At the conclusion of last year a friend approached me while I was surfing the net and told me about this really good virtual community that allows you to create a personal profile, invite your friends to join and then you can also view their friends profile as well. He said it was a great tool to use in order to keep in contact with friends and also make new ones. Once viewing the site www.hi5.com I was then interested and decided to have a look around. He then assisted me in setting up an account & that is my story, I have now been a part of this online community for about 5 months and I am finding it quite beneficial.

Hi5 is a place for meeting new people, connecting with friends and sharing ideas. The sign on page says "Find old friends, meet new people and browse photos" which is basically what you end up doing. This online community has taken a more broad approach in comparision to other communities that focus on specific purposes such as dating or finding old friends. The Hi5 virtual community member may interact within the confines of the community by reconnecting with old friends, casually meeting new friends by searching through profiles, or to finding someone that they might like to meet or date.

When you sign in you connect with your close group of friends and eventually as you visit the community you find more and more of your current friends online. When viewing your friends profile you are able to view their connections and friends so you are able to communicate with connected groups of friends as well as search strangers profiles. However what makes it a community is the feeling of knowing people that are connected with your real world friends. So in a sense it feels like a physical and real relationship as you may have already met or seen this person in passing.

I have found this through many personal experiences over the past 6 months that I have viewed friends profiles that have a list of people connected to them that are my personal friends as well, so you then add them to your own personal profile and become virtually connected. Also I have unexpectedly come across people that I may have seen out one night on the town in Brisbane and maybe had a brief conversation with. I find it really exciting when you see someone out that you may have something in common with only to think you will never see them again until you log in to your Hi5 profile on the World Wide Web. So this program must be set up through area codes as otherwise it would be difficult to search through individuals all over the world just to find a friend who lives locally.

I believe the aim of Hi5 is to get young people to interact socially with old and new friends through taking advantage of the people you know, and the people they know, and the people they know. Once you invite people onto the service and connect to friends already using the service, you discover a network of old friends and new people that you can meet. The service is free and it also includes features such as joining interest groups, chat, email, messaging, uploading pictures, you can view visitors to your profile, browse people, classmates, interact group mates and people within the same network as you.

You can view other peoples photo galleries and view their personal profiles. The personal profiles contain information such as personal demographics, age, gender etc, the types of people you would like to meet, sexual orientation, interests, faviourtie band, music, movies etc and you are also able to personalise your profile page to suit you. After doing this you can then add the person to your friends list if you wish. After adding an individual to your friends list you can then block them if you decide you do not wish to be connected to them any longer. For instance I came across a female that had a thing for my boyfriend and she and I do not get along so I decided the best thing to do is block her from viewing my profile.

I think people return to this site as the is an element of suprise because you don't know who you will come across that you used to know or if you have mutual friends with others. It is also a great way for singles to meet new people as my boyfriends room mate discovered as you can search through thousands of people on the one site that may turn out to live next door. Members can communicate through sending messages, email, online chat, interest group messages and making comments on others profile pages. You can also click on little buttons to give people a hi5 which may be for being cute, a diva, funny, a hero and lots of other little quirky things. Example below:

I think this site is very successful in terms of its member capacity and the frequent use of it by my friends. It is also successful in people using it to find partners, friends and people to date as I know many individuals who have met through this community and are still friends. Due to this I belileve the site must be extremely profitable.

Hope you all have a look and enjoy searching this site as it has become a regualr internet space that I visit and think is beneficial to my social experience.

Changing relationships between the producer and the audience

2006-04-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

The question below was posed to me in another subject KCB301 and I believe it directly links to discussion within our subject so I decided to share my analysis with you.

How has the relationship between media producers and audiences changed in recent years? Do these shifts provide audiences with more social and cultural power over the media they consume?

The development of terms such as ‘viewsers’, ‘prosumers’, ‘produsers’ and the concept of DIY Culture has stimulated arguments surrounding ownership and power in terms of changing audiences and new media technologies. This analysis will seek to make sense of the change in relationship between media producers and audiences by using examples from the online gaming industry and multi-platform media events with an extended view into the online ‘World of Warcraft’ gaming community. These examples will be further used to illustrate the concept of the empowered user. The major question here is whether or not these changing audiences are provided with more social and cultural power over the media they consume.

Some researchers argue that new media technologies are associated with the transformation of audiences. However it is not just about the emergence of new media but the convergence between traditional and new forms. David (2004, p.92) “Considering new media production then, therefore, requires us to hold together the old and the new; to recognize the presence of the new in the old; the consequences of the old for the new; and the mixing of the old and new.” Examples of this concept can be seen in today’s reality television trend.

Shows such as Australian Idol, Dancing with the Stars and Big Brother are multiplatform and cross-media events that use forms of old media (e.g. Television) and introduce interactivity through the use of mobile phone voting, websites and forums. This type of collaborative media encourages audience participation and in some ways gives the audience an element of control or sense of ownership. For instance in the case of Big Brother, the content is reliant upon the viewer through voting for favourite housemates and suggesting daily tasks via the internet. If a viewer suggests a daily task for the show and it is used than who owns the idea and should the producers take credit for the success or failure of this segment of the show?

Over the years through various developments in technology the relationship between the producers of content and the audience has changed. It is increasingly evident that audiences or the consumers of media are becoming the creative producers of media content and therefore blur the boundaries between the producer and the consumer. As Henry Jenkins (2002, p.1) states, traditional audience research refuses to see media consumers as autonomous and that in the present audiences are viewed as gaining greater power and autonomy as they enter into the new knowledge culture.

In order to thoroughly address whether the relationship between the producer and audience has provided audiences with more social and cultural power over the media they consume discussion should be drawn to an industry with extensive examples. Online gaming has become the most rapidly expanding new media technology and is consider ahead of other technologies in terms of audience interactivity. It is stated by David (2004) that new media expands the capacity and possibilities for viewers/audiences/users to actively engage in production activities and practices. Tristan Pope and his use of the online game ‘World of Warcraft’ is the perfect industry example to illustrate the change in relationship between the producer and the audience. This example will be used alongside Jenkins (2002) three trends to illustrate the new participatory culture:

THREE TRENDS:
1.) New tools and technologies enable consumers to archive, annotate, appropriate, and recirculate media content:

Tristan an individual who spent hours upon hours playing the online game and interacting within the virtual community decided to utilise the tools available within the means of the game and produce his own content. He used another program called Machinima to produce a film incorporating the characters from the ‘World of Warcraft’ game and used other members from the virtual community to assist with the production of new material which he circulated amongst the virtual community. (Convergence of media forms to create a new product)

2.) A range of subcultures promote Do-It-Yourself (DIY) media production, a discourse that shapes how consumers have deployed those technologies:

The producers of ‘World of Warcraft’ provided tools in which players can interact and design their own worlds and characters and customise the games interface. However, Blizzard the producers or creators of the online game were unhappy about the content produced in this film as it contained extreme sexual references and therefore did not align with their codes of conduct. (Banks, J. 2006) Blizzard removed the film from the online community and disabled some of the tools Tristan used to create his film. This in a sense displays that the audience still has a limited amount of control over their media consumption as the producer is still considered the owner in terms of intellectual property laws.

3.) Economic trends favouring the horizontally integrated media conglomerates encourage the flow of images, ideas and narratives across media channels and demand more active modes of spectatorship:

On the other hand when looking at the aftermath of this dispute Tristan was informed that he was not excluded from the community but needed to alter his behaviour and abide by the code of conduct. His work was also acknowledged as the producers were amused with the creative way he had used their content in such a clever way. The producers of Blizzard were in a way forced into this decision as Tristan was seen as a leader within the community and could be seen to have the potential to ruin the game or direct users to another online realm as having a big profile in these communities is an important role. This is an example of an active user having cultural and social power within their media usage.

So from the use of examples such as Big Brother and the ‘World of Warcraft’ it can be seen that the relationship between the producer and the audience has significantly changed and that in some cases this change benefits the consumer by giving them an element of power. The Internet is an open-ended media and therefore there are many issues associated with control and Intellectual property. Content can be recombined, cut and the re-edited which creates a problem for producers of content. There is a blurred distinction between who owns what and there may always be cultural struggles and conflict over terms and conditions of access to and the use of media content.

Good Friday

2006-04-15T05:29:00.002-07:00

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!! I thought the dog ws cute.
Well I did promise a personal post so here it is. An update on the wonderful world of Steph

Wednesday 12th April was my 22nd birthday (boy that sounds wierd) I am so used to saying 21 now that 22 doesn't seem right. I never expected that at 22 people would begin to tell you that you are getting old but my best friend gave me a card that summed it up perfectly. It was of two young girls and one of the girls said "we will be friends till we are old" and the other one replied "how old is that" and then she said "when we are 20 or 22 maybe". I thought this was so true in my case.

Well I went to the Dockside Comedy Club and I suggest that you all get your butts down there in April because I have never seen a group of funnier guys than this and I love stand up comedy. WARNING: They are a bit rude and offensive at times.

Just a question: Why is it that people as couples never like to do the same things and opposite attract? This really annoys me because yesterday was one of the best days I have had in a long time. Yes I was with the girls. We spent the whole day at Mt. Tamborine walking and having a ball playing with a footie and eating a packed lunch. (My boyfriend hates going on bush walks)

On the same day my other half was with the boys and played X-BOX nearly all day, ate, drove around everywhere looking for a bottle shop that was open and then went to bed feeling sick cause he ate too much. (I hate playing computer games and I hate eating too much)

I know this is really silly to comment on because it is common knowledge but why aren't we attracted to people with the same interests??? It just seems odd to me. Let me know what you think?

Issues of Sociability

2006-04-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

The Internet has been welcomed into the homes of families all over the world but has it been a smooth transition??? When asked about the Internet and its effects upon social aspects of life are the responses positive? OR NEGATIVE? There are many issues surrounding this very topic and some of these were covered in the courses earlier lectures.

Discussion arise about less communication and interaction between family members due to new technologies. It is thought that children spend more time in front of the TV and playing computer games rather than reading with their parents or playing outdoors. I feel very strongly about this issue as I see a sociaty of unhealthy individuals who are looking at the wrong solution! DIETING!!! This is not the problem and I am a strong believer that as technology improves - society becomes more lazy.

I know when I was young that I would spend hours and hours on end running around outdoors, climbing trees, swimming and playing with friends and family. Today I see my friends little brothers and sisters sitting down to play their X-Box or playing online games. In my tutorial groups discussion with John Banks this issue was breifly touched upon.

A young lady believed that the gaming industry is destroying traditional forms of interaction or real world interaction. I agree with her to some extent yet I also agree with the other side of the argument. As John Banks said online games give you the opportunity to interact with people you know and individuals from across the globe. Therefore individuals who are interacting in these games are not dissengaging from the real world but they are dissengaging with local communities I some way I guess.

Manuel Castells (2001) is a well known academic who has done extensive work on these types of issues. He has looked at the effect of virtual communities on the real world and the networking capacity of the Internet. The Digital Divide is a concept discussed extensively throughout his work and it is interesting to think about how this concept links in with the difference between the real world and the virual world.

Blogging vs Traditional journals

2006-04-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

Various tutorials in KCB201 have brought up the topic of discussion surrounding how many people in our class actually use blogs. I find this a very interesting topic and would like to share some of my views about blogging. Before enrolling in this unit I would have considered myself up-to-date with the lastest technologies, however in saying this I was totally unaware of the number of weblogs posted on the Internet, the wide variety of topics discussed and the process of setting one up. I believe blogs are a great communication medium for individuals that are passionate about particular subjects and would like to socialise or communicate with like-minded individuals (or individuals with differing views by voicing their opinions.

I am a marketing student and I have realised that blogs also have a profound effect upon the marketng practices of companies. For example in the case of Coke blogs have stimulated anti-coke campaigns and negative posts in relation to the companies business dealings. Due to the networking capacity of the Internat, companies need to be proactive in dealing with these issues and monitoring activity. If I was to write a journal about what I don't like about coke on paper unless I was persistent in distributing my ideas to other individuals there is little chance that my opinions would reach the wider commmunity let alone be viewed on a global scale. I therefore believe there is a great difference in the nature of diary blogging and using a personal journal for this reason.

Weblogs are a great way to express strong opinions without forcing them upon society or other individuals. This is because the content and information are easily accessible and in the same breath it is just as easy to disregard what is said and continue surfing the net. It also gives other the opportunity to comment and reflect or add to your opinions. For me personally the medium will be beneficial when working within the public relations and marketing industry as weblogs as stated above can provide public perceptions upon specific issues that may be related to a companies image and reputation.

I guess then the major difference between a traditional paper based journal and a weblog is the aspect of control. Ultimately with a normal journal you have control over who reads your ideas and opinions but the online weblog is accessible to anyone hooked up to the net. A traditional journal to me is something I can write my private thoughts in or commenting on events that have happened in my life. This type of context would not be something I would use for a weblog so therefore genre could be the major difference of the two.

Axel Bruns and Jonne Jacobs (2006) discuss that there are many genres when looking at blogging. These include diary, corporate, community and research blogging. I would participate in each genre of blogging other than diary bloggin as I mentioned before. I also believe blogs are set up to allow others to comment and respond to entries but traditional journals did not allow for this type of interaction in the process of communication.

When thinking about blogging as a communication tool I do not think it will be a replacement for the traditional journal, email or personal websites but it will become just abother platform to communicate upon. What do you think?????

Virgin Blogger

2006-03-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

Yes I know the name was a little corny but I knew it would get your attention as it works for me.

Personal profile:
Name: Steph

Age: 21 - I will be 22 on the 12th April

Hair Colour: Undecided - I am Blonde but I recently dyed my hair brown and in the process of deciding if it will stick with me.

Status: Committed - to a 6 foot, 96kg male who rides an Yamaha R1 with a custom paint job that rocks (Just thought I might interest some of the guys & girls who like bikes) - I promise I will tell you all about the stupid things he does cause they occur often.

Personality: I am happy, love sports, love joking around, Motorbikes (Wheelies - not on the mainroad of course), Triathlons, Surfing, Wakeboarding and well it looks like I love everything.

Enough about me........

Now this blog is going to attempt to cover the course material as well as entertain you with my interesting and busy little life. Yes I will share personal information about myself because it is the only way to interest you enough to read what I have to say.

Well now I have your attention I would like to know how many of you are new to the process of Blogging???? I find it an odd but interesting concept! Now having been introduced to the world of blogging I have realised just how rapid technology has progressed.

I went to a secondary school that required me to use a laptop and I was so computer literate that nothing suprised me. How is it that I am a 5th and final year student in Media Communication and I have only just discovered the concept and process of Blogging.

How many of you are in the same position and wonder how many other things we are unaware of in this world. I also wonder how individuals with little or no education are supposed to understand or find out about this weird and wonderful concept and method of communication.

I hope you will all follow me on this journey and revisit my blog because I will try my best to entertain you whilst sharing my thoughts.

Stay tuned for my next post as it will be a personal one. (I promise)