While browsing through an online forum, I noticed a thread titled, "I'm a coward." Intrigued, I clicked on it and followed the 8-page thread discussion.
The original poster called himself "Neil Black," although he later states that this is only an alias. In his post, he talks about this girl in his residence hall that he likes, but can't work up the nerve to ask out. He considers himself a coward for his social ineptness. Other forum posters gave advice, building up his confidence and eventually convincing him to take action.
Based on his sci-fi avatar and his complaints about his own social ability, I considered him a geek. He refers to residence halls and classes throughout the discussion, implying that he's a college student. He also mentions that he's in Kentucky.
My impressions, classfied into Big 5 personality traits:
Neuroticism: I get the impression that Neil is extremely neurotic. He appears to be very anxious about meeting with her, and he is noticably upset about his own inability to act.
Extraversion: Neil is almost certainly an introvert. He seems to spend a lot of time in his dorm room, playing video games and surfing the web.
Agreeableness: It seems like Neil is slightly on the disagreeable side. There were some attempts to poke humor into the thread to which Neil responded sourly (not always though).
Conscientiousness: Neil is definitely the cautious type. He seems to have the tendency to overthink things. Others on the forum pointed out that he had spent too much time thinking of how things could go wrong -- instead, he should just go for it.
Openness: Neil is a pretty open person. He has no qualms about discussing his inner feelings, or being receptive to those of others. He also enjoys various forms of entertainment.
Since I was only performing situational observation, my impressions were based entirely on verbal cues, without any active probing. Despite this, I was still able to obtain significant personal information (including ASL) and form a strong impression of Neil. My experience is probably heavily skewed because this is an unusual circumstance for Neil and might not accurately reflect how he normally behaves at all.
My experience closely matches the hyperpersonal model. I developed intense (but not broad) impressions, which may have been due in part to his selective self-representation. He is only putting forth the information required for you to understand his situation, and declined to upload a photo of himself. This thread is also more than a week old, so Neil had ample time to reveal details to help readers get to know him better (as per the developmental aspect of the hyperpersonal model.)
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Meeting someone new?
I went online to a "randomly assigned" chat room. (id explica the first one on Google that I could get into without registering). I am not a chat room-type person. I have only used this technology onece or twice in my life. I only mention this because it may be a confounding variable in my personal results.
The person I chose to make my impression of was the first person who recognized I was "snooping" on the chat room. Which was his/her word for not contributing, but just watching. It only took about 20 minutes for this person to recognize me. At first, I was struck and flattered that someone had noticed me. This preliminarily boded well for my impression of this person, who was refferred to as DOGG4341. Before asking anything, I assumed that this was a 20-something male, just by the ID.
After asking a couple of questions, this person "said" that they were an 18 year old male high school grad in Indianapolis (Indiana, I assume). We chatted for about 30 minutes, constantly being interrupted by everyone else in the group, whom we both ignored. However, I must say that I formed quite a negative impression of these people.
My impression of DOGG4341 is that of a regular "kid" who has a rough life and cannot afford to go to college. He seemed relatively intelligent and that does not seem to have been preventing him from attending at least a two year college. He stated that he was working, though which leads me to think that he had to take at least one year off of schooling. Like I said, I found him relatively pleasant, because he recognized me. He could have been a bit creepy, though. I was pretty sure about my impression in intensity, but not so much in breadth.
This makes me believe that my FIRST impression supports hyperpersonal theory. Over time my impression may change, but I certainly do not plan on keeping in contact with my "partner". I found that the nature of the assignment and the lack of cues led me to focus in on the cues that were present. I noted myself engaging in at least three of the five aspects of hyperpersonal theory. (especially selective self-presentation for myself, as I portrayed myself as my ideal self, as opposed to my actual self)
The person I chose to make my impression of was the first person who recognized I was "snooping" on the chat room. Which was his/her word for not contributing, but just watching. It only took about 20 minutes for this person to recognize me. At first, I was struck and flattered that someone had noticed me. This preliminarily boded well for my impression of this person, who was refferred to as DOGG4341. Before asking anything, I assumed that this was a 20-something male, just by the ID.
After asking a couple of questions, this person "said" that they were an 18 year old male high school grad in Indianapolis (Indiana, I assume). We chatted for about 30 minutes, constantly being interrupted by everyone else in the group, whom we both ignored. However, I must say that I formed quite a negative impression of these people.
My impression of DOGG4341 is that of a regular "kid" who has a rough life and cannot afford to go to college. He seemed relatively intelligent and that does not seem to have been preventing him from attending at least a two year college. He stated that he was working, though which leads me to think that he had to take at least one year off of schooling. Like I said, I found him relatively pleasant, because he recognized me. He could have been a bit creepy, though. I was pretty sure about my impression in intensity, but not so much in breadth.
This makes me believe that my FIRST impression supports hyperpersonal theory. Over time my impression may change, but I certainly do not plan on keeping in contact with my "partner". I found that the nature of the assignment and the lack of cues led me to focus in on the cues that were present. I noted myself engaging in at least three of the five aspects of hyperpersonal theory. (especially selective self-presentation for myself, as I portrayed myself as my ideal self, as opposed to my actual self)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The Growing Online Space of Web 2.0
My name is Emily Etinger, and I am a senior in the College of Engineering. I am an independent major, studying Operations Research & Information Engineering, Information Science, and Business.
This semester, I am taking 21 credits (6 courses). In order to stay on top of all of my various assignments, I set out in search of a website where I could easily outline my course load for the semester. I looked for a site where I can enter in all of my assignments for each course, along with all due dates, and then print out my weekly tasks.
I am a fan of the ever-growing world of Web 2.0—more specifically, the synchronicity of online applications that I can use to stay organized. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any website that featured an application that suited my particular needs in this situation. However, I did find some new sites that I might find useful some time in the future.
Every so often, I search online for the latest additions to the Web 2.0 world; I am always pleasantly surprised by the number of new free applications available to the world. Internet users and developers are constantly pushing for faster data that is accessible anywhere in the world, regardless of the users’ physical location. Even though I was not able to find the application that suited my needs at this particular time, I am confident that it will become available some time in the future.
The constant creation of Web 2.0 websites is encouraging to the world of online application progress. In contrast to companies that create productivity software that sit off-line, such as Microsoft Office, I know that I can search the Internet each week and find new software; I don’t need to wait four year or so for new versions of the same solutions to appear.
Why do these new applications appear at an exponential rate? What inspires web developers to spend endless hours creating online applications that may never turn any profit? Does the Internet provide entrepreneurs with the perfect outlet for presenting their ideas to the largest possible audience? Or does the tremendous amount of new additions to the online world hinder a potentially good idea from succeeding because of the overflow of information?
This semester, I am taking 21 credits (6 courses). In order to stay on top of all of my various assignments, I set out in search of a website where I could easily outline my course load for the semester. I looked for a site where I can enter in all of my assignments for each course, along with all due dates, and then print out my weekly tasks.
I am a fan of the ever-growing world of Web 2.0—more specifically, the synchronicity of online applications that I can use to stay organized. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any website that featured an application that suited my particular needs in this situation. However, I did find some new sites that I might find useful some time in the future.
Every so often, I search online for the latest additions to the Web 2.0 world; I am always pleasantly surprised by the number of new free applications available to the world. Internet users and developers are constantly pushing for faster data that is accessible anywhere in the world, regardless of the users’ physical location. Even though I was not able to find the application that suited my needs at this particular time, I am confident that it will become available some time in the future.
The constant creation of Web 2.0 websites is encouraging to the world of online application progress. In contrast to companies that create productivity software that sit off-line, such as Microsoft Office, I know that I can search the Internet each week and find new software; I don’t need to wait four year or so for new versions of the same solutions to appear.
Why do these new applications appear at an exponential rate? What inspires web developers to spend endless hours creating online applications that may never turn any profit? Does the Internet provide entrepreneurs with the perfect outlet for presenting their ideas to the largest possible audience? Or does the tremendous amount of new additions to the online world hinder a potentially good idea from succeeding because of the overflow of information?
I love shopping...even online
Hello , world~~My name is Yu Tian, senior in information science. A year ago, I transfered to Cornell from Beijing, China . Initially misled by the information 'Ithaca is in NY state, where is not far away from NYC', I thought I was going to a place full of shopping malls...yeah, I know this sounds stupid, but after I talked to another freshman this evening, I figured that I was not the only one( thank god....) Anyways, after I was done with Pyramid Mall quickly after I got here, I started my new hobby, shopping online( especially ebay), which improved my understanding of online bidding system and cultivate my interest in e-commerce area at relatively small expenses of spending a few extra bucks ( fine, this is my story and I am stick to it...=P) And what's more important, it provides me with some idea for this very first assignment for my new favorite course. =)
I believe that people are familiar with some shopping websites as ebay.com, amazon.com. I mean, even those alien robots know how to use it... Not mentioned in Wallace's book, these kind of websites might need to be classified into a new internet enviroment. Take ebay for example, even though looking at computer screen, we are actually dealing with people: people who sell , people who buy, people who make reviews and people who read reviews. So, how do these people affect each other in this space? How do people be affected by the limited information revealed on the webpage? Will we be willing to buy stuff from a seller with 10 good reviews and 3 bad ones or a seller with 3 good reviews, and more importantly, why? I am very interested in learning to analyze what's really going on under all these online social activities, also, hopefully this will help me in my future bidding.
I believe that people are familiar with some shopping websites as ebay.com, amazon.com. I mean, even those alien robots know how to use it... Not mentioned in Wallace's book, these kind of websites might need to be classified into a new internet enviroment. Take ebay for example, even though looking at computer screen, we are actually dealing with people: people who sell , people who buy, people who make reviews and people who read reviews. So, how do these people affect each other in this space? How do people be affected by the limited information revealed on the webpage? Will we be willing to buy stuff from a seller with 10 good reviews and 3 bad ones or a seller with 3 good reviews, and more importantly, why? I am very interested in learning to analyze what's really going on under all these online social activities, also, hopefully this will help me in my future bidding.
Assignment One
Hello.
My name is Milan (like the city). I was born in Cleveland, OH, but I've been living out in the boonies for a while now. I'm a junior, age 20, majoring in psychology. I've been active in forums, blogs, and chat rooms since I was in junior high. I'd like to think the amount of time I used to spend online directly correlates with how little I had to do; rural Ohio is known for little else but unbelievably oppressive boredom. And corn.
I spend a lot of my free time writing or sketching, and that's only when I'm not reading. I prefer somewhat obscure science fiction and fantasy, but I'll read pretty much anything. I have a collection (read: hoard) of various campus publications about as tall as my desk, most of which I've at least skimmed. I've been on the staff of Rainy Day during previous semesters, and I'm considering joining again this year.
Most of my online activity centers around my primary interests. I post on various "communities" where members provide writing and/or sketch samples and trade constructive criticism. The owners work to maintain them as casual, non-confrontational environments where people feel comfortable pointing out flaws and inconsistencies in each others' work that they'd never be able to speak of in person. It's fun, low-maintenance, no-conflict.
A phenomenon I think is interesting is how these communities sometimes develop hierarchies and unspoken sets of social protocol, gradually becoming more and more insular to the point of xenophobia. The more established members form pseudo-factions and are openly hostile towards anyone who disrupts the system (which includes potential new members by default)Though these are asynchronous discussion forums by default, they end up displaying a lot of the characteristics of what Wallace referred to as "metaworlds;" this is particularly odd, because forums typically lack the graphical flair that one would assume necessary to hold a certain degree of attention. I would eventually like to understand how this process occurs.
I don't think Wallace could have anticipated the blurring of the lines between her "online spaces;" in her model, where would things like Facebook and Myspace fall? In that same vein, where and when does a discussion forum become more than that for its members?
My name is Milan (like the city). I was born in Cleveland, OH, but I've been living out in the boonies for a while now. I'm a junior, age 20, majoring in psychology. I've been active in forums, blogs, and chat rooms since I was in junior high. I'd like to think the amount of time I used to spend online directly correlates with how little I had to do; rural Ohio is known for little else but unbelievably oppressive boredom. And corn.
I spend a lot of my free time writing or sketching, and that's only when I'm not reading. I prefer somewhat obscure science fiction and fantasy, but I'll read pretty much anything. I have a collection (read: hoard) of various campus publications about as tall as my desk, most of which I've at least skimmed. I've been on the staff of Rainy Day during previous semesters, and I'm considering joining again this year.
Most of my online activity centers around my primary interests. I post on various "communities" where members provide writing and/or sketch samples and trade constructive criticism. The owners work to maintain them as casual, non-confrontational environments where people feel comfortable pointing out flaws and inconsistencies in each others' work that they'd never be able to speak of in person. It's fun, low-maintenance, no-conflict.
A phenomenon I think is interesting is how these communities sometimes develop hierarchies and unspoken sets of social protocol, gradually becoming more and more insular to the point of xenophobia. The more established members form pseudo-factions and are openly hostile towards anyone who disrupts the system (which includes potential new members by default)Though these are asynchronous discussion forums by default, they end up displaying a lot of the characteristics of what Wallace referred to as "metaworlds;" this is particularly odd, because forums typically lack the graphical flair that one would assume necessary to hold a certain degree of attention. I would eventually like to understand how this process occurs.
I don't think Wallace could have anticipated the blurring of the lines between her "online spaces;" in her model, where would things like Facebook and Myspace fall? In that same vein, where and when does a discussion forum become more than that for its members?
Assgnmnt 1
Hi, my name is Yim Lin. I am a junior in ISST in the college of Engineering. I come from New Jersey. I work at the ticket office in Willard Straight Hall and the Grad School. I have two bunnies. They're both fat. I like to sleep and wish I could be doing so right now.....
I vowed never to use blogger again when they forced me to sign up for a google account. I don’t really know what happened what I guess was that my google account expired but still existed, so there was no way for me to sign up again with it or change the password that I had long forgotten. So I signed up for a new google account but it wouldn’t let me retrieve my old blog again because it was mapped to my other account. Finally out of frustration, I switched to Xanga and swore never to Blogger again. Unfortunately, I enrolled in this class and was forced to break this sacred oath I had made.
This summer I stayed in Ithaca. Although I had found a job on Cornell campus, I wanted one off campus as well. To aid my search, I looked online, specifically at Ithaca’s Craigslist. There, many of the locals had posted various positions they were looking to fill. Not having used Craigslist much before, I began to explore the other areas. They had many things like goods for sale or room for rents, and even a personals section, all within the local area. It is essentially like the classified section in a newspaper, but better. The postings are more accurate timewise and there are a lot more of them. Craigslist serves as an extremely easy way to advertise to your local community. It’s free to post and free to browse and thus, easily accessible by just about everyone. It is a way to get the word out to the community that you have something you want, or are looking for something. If you decide to change your mind, you have that veil of anonymity to hide behind, because no one knows who you are and people are expecting some bogus postings. It also puts you on a personal level to others in a sense that you are connecting to your own community but it’s also not personal because you do not actually have to interact with them if you don’t want to.
Craigslist is most like Wallace’s “World Wide Web” category. Most people go there to seek out something they’re looking for or to advertise something. For instance, someone looking at the “items for sale” section probably went there because they already had in mind something they needed to buy. I went there because I wanted to find a job. Craigslist contains a plethora of information for those who are looking for it.
I vowed never to use blogger again when they forced me to sign up for a google account. I don’t really know what happened what I guess was that my google account expired but still existed, so there was no way for me to sign up again with it or change the password that I had long forgotten. So I signed up for a new google account but it wouldn’t let me retrieve my old blog again because it was mapped to my other account. Finally out of frustration, I switched to Xanga and swore never to Blogger again. Unfortunately, I enrolled in this class and was forced to break this sacred oath I had made.
This summer I stayed in Ithaca. Although I had found a job on Cornell campus, I wanted one off campus as well. To aid my search, I looked online, specifically at Ithaca’s Craigslist. There, many of the locals had posted various positions they were looking to fill. Not having used Craigslist much before, I began to explore the other areas. They had many things like goods for sale or room for rents, and even a personals section, all within the local area. It is essentially like the classified section in a newspaper, but better. The postings are more accurate timewise and there are a lot more of them. Craigslist serves as an extremely easy way to advertise to your local community. It’s free to post and free to browse and thus, easily accessible by just about everyone. It is a way to get the word out to the community that you have something you want, or are looking for something. If you decide to change your mind, you have that veil of anonymity to hide behind, because no one knows who you are and people are expecting some bogus postings. It also puts you on a personal level to others in a sense that you are connecting to your own community but it’s also not personal because you do not actually have to interact with them if you don’t want to.
Craigslist is most like Wallace’s “World Wide Web” category. Most people go there to seek out something they’re looking for or to advertise something. For instance, someone looking at the “items for sale” section probably went there because they already had in mind something they needed to buy. I went there because I wanted to find a job. Craigslist contains a plethora of information for those who are looking for it.
Facebook and Myspace...Where is the distinction?
Greetings my fellow Bloggers! My name is Julia Dorcé and I am a junior in the School of Industrial & Labor Relations. I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, but raised in the Big Apple. Well, if you consider Queens Village, NY the “Big Apple” then sure. Although my major is Industrial & Labor Relations, my career aspirations reside more in the realm of journalism. See, initially when I entered the ILR School I was under the crazy notion that I wanted to be a corporate lawyer. However, when I really sat down and thought about it, I discovered that my true passion was writing. I had always been active in numerous publications in high school, and since coming to Cornell that has not changed much either. Thus, I aspire to be the Editor-in-Chief of a magazine under Hearst Publications, particularly Cosmopolitan. Yea, I know what you may be thinking “Isn’t that the magazine that is all about sex position and how to achieve the perfect orgasm”? And yes, a small portion of the magazine is devoted to sex and love, but that is not the whole focus of the content within its 200+ glossy pages. Aside from journalism I am interested in communications and fashion. Reflecting on my experience with blog sites such as this one, I am reminded of my early high school days when the use of “Xanga” was as popular as today’s “Blogger” and “Live Journal”. For me, the appeal wasn’t in the ability to have an online account, or diary if you will, of my life. I enjoyed the design aspect of it. I recall spending countless hours looking up layout codes, constructing my own, or finding ways to make my “Xanga” page truly stand out.
In thinking about an Internet-related phenomenon that I am interested in, my thoughts focus in on the overwhelming popularity of Facebook versus the equally identical downplay of Myspace. I remember the days before I received my coveted NetID, when Myspace was all the crazy. However, looking at what Myspace has become, with additions of “extras” such as a blog, photo album, and calendar, it is not the Myspace that I remember at all. Then, when Facebook became my new online addiction, I felt a sense of comfort in knowing that I had become a part of the elite “college crowd” who could frequent the site at their leisure. This was before the days of the “Mini-feed and third-party applications such as the Super Wall, Big Photo, and the now “public” domain”. When I think about both where both Myspace and Facebook have come in the last few years, I can’t seem to understand why the tide has shifted more toward the use of Facebook. In lieu of all of the development that each platform has undergone, it is hard to really make a clear comparison between the two entities. Thus I ask, what is it about Facebook that makes it so addicting more so than Myspace?
The online space that Facebook occupies is a medley of the World Wide Web, email, and asynchronous discussion forum. In thinking about how the site is organized by networks, which can include either geographic regions or college affiliation, I am reminded of the cataloging system characteristic of the World Wide Web. With respect to the sending and receiving of messages between parties, the concept of email readily comes to mind. Finally, in looking at the function of the “Wall”, I think about an asynchronous discussion forum. People can post comments on their own “Wall”, reply to something on someone else’s “Wall”, and their “Friends” can view what either party said. It is complex to say the least because with all of the mainframe changes that Facebook has undergone in the past few years, I am sure that the online space it occupies will only grow to be more extensive.
blog newbie
Hello my fellow bloggers. My name is Lina and I’m currently a senior in ILR majoring in…ILR. I was born and raised in
I actually spent this past summer here at Cornell taking classes and studying for LSATs. Besides cramming for prelims, I also found out some interesting facts about myself. For example, I found out that I am allergic to mice’s pee. I followed a friend to lab and was playing with some mice when one of them peed on my arm. I know it’s a bit hard to believe but I started getting all these bumps that went away a few days later. It was a bit embarrassing explaining this to my professor who excused me for missing class. I don’t think he believed me but he gave me credit for my creativity.
When I wasn’t getting an allergic reaction I spent my time on Facebook. One interesting internet-related phenomenon I noticed was the expansion of politics into the Facebook realm. I was randomly searching through names and happened to type in some candidate’s name and surprisingly she had a Facebook profile with hundreds of friends. Of course I had to add her as a friend and I ended up spending the whole day wondering what I should write on her wall, just in case she gets bored one day and decides to read it.
This recent phenomenon seems to allow candidates to personally reach out and appear relatable to college students who would spend a day checking their friends’ relationship statuses rather than finding out who might be the next president (I’m still not sure which is more important). I don’t know about other people but for me just being able to be friends on Facebook with such people made me more interested in elections and politics as a whole. Will Facebook be able to finally break the wall of detachment and formality that has separated college students from politicians like it has for me?
According to the terms that Wallace uses, Facebook would fall into the “asynchronous discussion forum,” in which people can post on each other’s walls at any time of day or night. College students with similar interests, regardless of location, are able to reply on these walls where discussions can go on for days or even weeks depending on the topic. Therefore, for those out there who fear that Facebook is a waste of time, take comfort in knowing that the future president may be home procrastinating on Facebook as well.
Why Are We Obsessed with Social-Networking Websites?!
Hello there, fellow Blue Bloggers! My name is Joshua Navarro and I am currently a junior in ILR, where I am focusing my studies on Human Resources Administration. Law school is still an option in the future, but I have yet to be completely persuaded into pursing a career in law like many other ILR-ies. I come from Denver, Colorado, where I was born and raised. No matter where I may reside, my home and heart will always be in Colorado. I really like being away here in Ithaca, but there is just something about the Rocky Mountains and the four seasons that I find completely captivating. I like to think of myself as an average 20 year old guy. I like to listen to various types of music, go to movies, and even hangout with friends and family in social environments.
One internet-related phenomenon I always find myself fascinated with is the emergence of various social-networking websites. Because these sites are relatively new in comparison to the concepts shared in Wallaces’s book, they do not fit into just one internet environment; I actually believe these networking websites are a hybrid of a few environments. They can fit under the categories of electronic email, asynchronous discussion forums, and possibly even synchronous chats.
One particular site which never ceases to amaze me is MySpace.com. I must admit that I was bit skeptical and “weirded-out” when a friend of mine introduced me to MySpace almost two years ago. I was suspect of the idea of posting so much personal information and intimate details on a website that almost anybody in the world could gain access to. My friend (who lives in California) convinced me that it would be a simple and fun way to remain in touch with all the distance between us. Little did I know after joining the website I would soon become nearly obsessed. Exactly why did I become obsessed with the social-network site? Was it because it allows you to create your own homepage with a distinct URL, allowing you to add any of your interests, likes and dislikes, pictures, and a creative background? Was it because MySpace allows you to send electronic messages to various members and “friends?” Did I become attached because of the ability to post bulletins to be sent to all “friends” at the same time and even post comments on other members’ pages? Was it because the site allows you to participate in instant messaging chats and discussion forums? To be honest, I think it was because of all these features available in one website that I became a regular viewer and obsessed member of MySpace.com. I do find it particularly interesting how involved some people get on these social networking websites. Some individuals take it so extreme that their involvement can become detrimental to their real life, causing much drama and hostility. I like to think of myself as a responsible MySpacer, making sure not to disclose too much personal information all while keeping in touch with friends all over the country!
One internet-related phenomenon I always find myself fascinated with is the emergence of various social-networking websites. Because these sites are relatively new in comparison to the concepts shared in Wallaces’s book, they do not fit into just one internet environment; I actually believe these networking websites are a hybrid of a few environments. They can fit under the categories of electronic email, asynchronous discussion forums, and possibly even synchronous chats.
One particular site which never ceases to amaze me is MySpace.com. I must admit that I was bit skeptical and “weirded-out” when a friend of mine introduced me to MySpace almost two years ago. I was suspect of the idea of posting so much personal information and intimate details on a website that almost anybody in the world could gain access to. My friend (who lives in California) convinced me that it would be a simple and fun way to remain in touch with all the distance between us. Little did I know after joining the website I would soon become nearly obsessed. Exactly why did I become obsessed with the social-network site? Was it because it allows you to create your own homepage with a distinct URL, allowing you to add any of your interests, likes and dislikes, pictures, and a creative background? Was it because MySpace allows you to send electronic messages to various members and “friends?” Did I become attached because of the ability to post bulletins to be sent to all “friends” at the same time and even post comments on other members’ pages? Was it because the site allows you to participate in instant messaging chats and discussion forums? To be honest, I think it was because of all these features available in one website that I became a regular viewer and obsessed member of MySpace.com. I do find it particularly interesting how involved some people get on these social networking websites. Some individuals take it so extreme that their involvement can become detrimental to their real life, causing much drama and hostility. I like to think of myself as a responsible MySpacer, making sure not to disclose too much personal information all while keeping in touch with friends all over the country!
What Makes Twitter Twitter?
IT creates value by applying technology to information to answer questions. Some websites answer lots of questions. Google, Facebook, MySpace, Wikipedia, etc.Not Twitter.
Twitter is a one question startup. That question: "What are you doing?"
For the uninitiated, Liz Lawley on Many-to-many sums it up best
First, one can use the service either actively or passively. When used synchronously, users view new messages in real time. Whereas asynchronously, users glance down every so often to get a general impression of what's going on.
Second, the one-line format lends itself to two distinct styles of communication. The first possibility is that the value of a message is in the information conveyed. For example, if I tell my friends where I'm at then they have the ability to come find me. The second possibility is that the value of the message comes from the message itself, its presence. That is, when your friends send a message like "hi!" or "poke!", the value comes not from the content but rather from merely knowing that your peeps are thinking of you.
The combination of synchronous/asynchronous with information/presence leaves us with four possible distinct possibilities. To borrow some ethnography from Rheingold's Smart Mobs and Ito's Personal, Portable, Pedestrian, I'd say the use cases look something like this
Synchronous Asynchronous
Information Smart Mobs Virtual Communities
Presence Telecocooning Ltwt Digital Refreshment
Smart mobs and virtual communities should be self-explanatory. Telecocooning is the term used to describe people who are physically separated, but who inhabit a common virtual space using mobile wireless. The idea is that these people exchange "presence pokes" with their three or four closest friends several times a day to create the illusion of togetherness. Lightweight digital refreshment is a term used to describe mobile entertainment used intermittently throughout the day. The idea being that one glances down from time to time without interrupting the state of flow any more than, say, taking a sip from a cup of coffee.
To quote again from Liz
The rich and variegated use of Twitter seems to be a case of technological constraints forcing creativity. One can't help but wonder, "At one point does less become more?" When adding new features we worry about increased cognitive load and reduced usability; should we worry about damping creativity as well? And is it possible to purposely restrict functionality to encourage ingenuity?
Maybe Twitter hit the jackpot by accident. But maybe not. Perhaps there's a lesson here worth learning.
About the Author
See Also: The Asymptotic Twitter Curve
Twitter is a one question startup. That question: "What are you doing?"
For the uninitiated, Liz Lawley on Many-to-many sums it up best
What makes Twitter interesting is its multiple use cases.
"If you haven’t tried it yet, Twitter is a site that allows you to post one-line messages about what you’re currently doing—via the web interface, IM, or SMS. You can limit who sees the messages to people you’ve explicitly added to your friends list, or you can make the messages public."
First, one can use the service either actively or passively. When used synchronously, users view new messages in real time. Whereas asynchronously, users glance down every so often to get a general impression of what's going on.
Second, the one-line format lends itself to two distinct styles of communication. The first possibility is that the value of a message is in the information conveyed. For example, if I tell my friends where I'm at then they have the ability to come find me. The second possibility is that the value of the message comes from the message itself, its presence. That is, when your friends send a message like "hi!" or "poke!", the value comes not from the content but rather from merely knowing that your peeps are thinking of you.
The combination of synchronous/asynchronous with information/presence leaves us with four possible distinct possibilities. To borrow some ethnography from Rheingold's Smart Mobs and Ito's Personal, Portable, Pedestrian, I'd say the use cases look something like this
Synchronous Asynchronous
Information Smart Mobs Virtual Communities
Presence Telecocooning Ltwt Digital Refreshment
Smart mobs and virtual communities should be self-explanatory. Telecocooning is the term used to describe people who are physically separated, but who inhabit a common virtual space using mobile wireless. The idea is that these people exchange "presence pokes" with their three or four closest friends several times a day to create the illusion of togetherness. Lightweight digital refreshment is a term used to describe mobile entertainment used intermittently throughout the day. The idea being that one glances down from time to time without interrupting the state of flow any more than, say, taking a sip from a cup of coffee.
To quote again from Liz
"What Twitter does, in a simple and brilliant way, is to merge a number of interesting trends in social software usage—personal blogging, lightweight presence indicators, and IM status messages—into a fascinating blend of ephemerality and permanence, public and private."
The rich and variegated use of Twitter seems to be a case of technological constraints forcing creativity. One can't help but wonder, "At one point does less become more?" When adding new features we worry about increased cognitive load and reduced usability; should we worry about damping creativity as well? And is it possible to purposely restrict functionality to encourage ingenuity?
Maybe Twitter hit the jackpot by accident. But maybe not. Perhaps there's a lesson here worth learning.
About the Author
See Also: The Asymptotic Twitter Curve
Hello =)
Hi everyone!
My name is Bianca Ghiselli and I am a junior in the ILR school. I spent my freshman year at Rutgers University and then transferred to Cornell in the fall of 2006. I am a huge soccer fan (AC Milan!) and I refuse to watch any other sport. As most (female) college students I spend too much time on Facebook, updating my profile and looking at my friends’ recently uploaded pictures. I am very interested in organizational behavior and social psychology and would like to pursue a career in human resources consulting.
The internet phenomenon of finding love online has caught my attention the most. eHarmony.com has now become the new way of meeting “the one” among “singles in your area”. But…why? Have we become so lazy that we’d rather sit at home and chat online? Are we hiding behind laptop screens hoping our personality will win the heart of prince charming before he meets us in person? Or have we become so cynical that we have abandoned every hope of coming cross mr. right in our circle of friends? And isn’t the idea of stumbling across “the one” among a pool of online strangers an even more farfetched concept than meeting your true love at Starbucks on a random Tuesday morning?
e-Harmony.com is both an asynchronous discussion forum and a synchronous chat. In an asynchronous discussion forum, members can publish their profiles on the web and post replies to each other and read what others have said at any time of day or night. Some profiles may receive lots of hits while others might be completely ignored. Also, as Wallace states, such websites allow you to “…become part of a discussion among people of similar interests, regardless of their geographic location; you may know the participants in real life, or you may have never met any of them.” On the other hand, these forums can also be synchronous chats. Once a person feel he or she has found the right match, they can begin to entertain private real-time conversations by typing brief messages.
This is not to say that I don’t think that love can be found online or that relationships formed over the net are less “real” than any others but I do believe that nothing can replace real-life interaction. Our grandparents met in college, through mutual friends or at work…so why can’t we?
My name is Bianca Ghiselli and I am a junior in the ILR school. I spent my freshman year at Rutgers University and then transferred to Cornell in the fall of 2006. I am a huge soccer fan (AC Milan!) and I refuse to watch any other sport. As most (female) college students I spend too much time on Facebook, updating my profile and looking at my friends’ recently uploaded pictures. I am very interested in organizational behavior and social psychology and would like to pursue a career in human resources consulting.
The internet phenomenon of finding love online has caught my attention the most. eHarmony.com has now become the new way of meeting “the one” among “singles in your area”. But…why? Have we become so lazy that we’d rather sit at home and chat online? Are we hiding behind laptop screens hoping our personality will win the heart of prince charming before he meets us in person? Or have we become so cynical that we have abandoned every hope of coming cross mr. right in our circle of friends? And isn’t the idea of stumbling across “the one” among a pool of online strangers an even more farfetched concept than meeting your true love at Starbucks on a random Tuesday morning?
e-Harmony.com is both an asynchronous discussion forum and a synchronous chat. In an asynchronous discussion forum, members can publish their profiles on the web and post replies to each other and read what others have said at any time of day or night. Some profiles may receive lots of hits while others might be completely ignored. Also, as Wallace states, such websites allow you to “…become part of a discussion among people of similar interests, regardless of their geographic location; you may know the participants in real life, or you may have never met any of them.” On the other hand, these forums can also be synchronous chats. Once a person feel he or she has found the right match, they can begin to entertain private real-time conversations by typing brief messages.
This is not to say that I don’t think that love can be found online or that relationships formed over the net are less “real” than any others but I do believe that nothing can replace real-life interaction. Our grandparents met in college, through mutual friends or at work…so why can’t we?
1st blog ever
Hi everyone! My name is Jadd Schmeltzer and I am a Freshman from Tappan, NY which is right outside of the Big Apple (New York City). I went to Bergen Catholic High School which was rated by Sports Illustrated the #1 Athletic School in NJ in 2004. I am a member of the Varsity Football team here at Cornell in which I play Tight End. One of my passions is baseball, and I will be continuing my career playing varsity baseball for Big Red in the spring. Many of you who read this are probably thinking am I even taking any classes here or am I just playing sports. To inform you, I am in the Agriculture and Life Sciences School with a major in AEM. A little background on me is that I am a huge fan of the Dave Matthews Band and I am a huge New York Yankee fan. To all of you Red Sox fans, watch out because the Yankees are on a roll and we are coming back to win the American League East!
An internet-related phenomenon that I am interested in is Facebook. I am not as into it as other fellow students of mine, but I do go on it and use it in moderation. It is a cool way to interact with people other then using the everyday methods like e-mailing, instant messaging, text messaging, and of course the oldest, talking over the phone. Facebook has changed the way communication takes place. One example is now people can meet before they go to college through Facebook. They can meet through their school’s Facebook group, for example Cornell Class of 2011, and also groups within that Facebook group such as athletic teams or who is in what dorm? A cool thing about Facebook is that you can now find long lost friends that you haven’t seen since you were in middle school. You can do this by doing a simple search and looking them up in the data base only if they were to have created an account. Facebook uses groups, wall comments, and pictures in order to allow for communication to your “friends.” However, many people abuse this program by over using it and checking their page 10+ times a day (or maybe this is why I don’t really like Facebook that much because I don’t go on it as much as other people).
After reading the first two chapters of Wallace's book, I have come to the conclusion that Facebook takes place in the "asynchronous discussion forum." I feel this way because the book describes it as an ongoing conference in which people write and read comments that other people have made about the person you are sending the message to. Facebook gives anyone who is your friend the ability to leave comments which can make your space very confusing and conversations could go on for days as opposed to having a conversation on the phone and being over within an hour. Facebook, however, hits on other topics as well that were not covered in this book probably due to its recent popularity and still being so new.
An internet-related phenomenon that I am interested in is Facebook. I am not as into it as other fellow students of mine, but I do go on it and use it in moderation. It is a cool way to interact with people other then using the everyday methods like e-mailing, instant messaging, text messaging, and of course the oldest, talking over the phone. Facebook has changed the way communication takes place. One example is now people can meet before they go to college through Facebook. They can meet through their school’s Facebook group, for example Cornell Class of 2011, and also groups within that Facebook group such as athletic teams or who is in what dorm? A cool thing about Facebook is that you can now find long lost friends that you haven’t seen since you were in middle school. You can do this by doing a simple search and looking them up in the data base only if they were to have created an account. Facebook uses groups, wall comments, and pictures in order to allow for communication to your “friends.” However, many people abuse this program by over using it and checking their page 10+ times a day (or maybe this is why I don’t really like Facebook that much because I don’t go on it as much as other people).
After reading the first two chapters of Wallace's book, I have come to the conclusion that Facebook takes place in the "asynchronous discussion forum." I feel this way because the book describes it as an ongoing conference in which people write and read comments that other people have made about the person you are sending the message to. Facebook gives anyone who is your friend the ability to leave comments which can make your space very confusing and conversations could go on for days as opposed to having a conversation on the phone and being over within an hour. Facebook, however, hits on other topics as well that were not covered in this book probably due to its recent popularity and still being so new.
hello!!!
My name is Kristina Moore and I am a sophomore Communication major. Additionally, I may double major in AEM. I’m from Northern Virginia; about thirty minutes outside of Washington DC. I love to wake up early and watch the sunrise and my favorite season is winter—so I have no problem with Ithaca blizzards. Other than academics, I’m a sister of Delta Gamma and a soon-to-be member of the Cornell Figure Skating Club.
An Internet phenomenon that I’m interested in is what kind of influence Internet gaming has on younger children. Even though I feel as if my generation was lucky to “grow up” and mature with the convenience of the Internet, I worry sometimes that future generations may not be as fortunate. For example, when I was younger, I spent my days playing imaginary “house” with my girlfriends and the game CLUE with my family. On the other hand, my younger cousin (seven years old) has had his own computer with Internet access since he was five years old. Outside of school, he spends more time playing online games than he does socializing and interacting with other children. I wouldn’t automatically assume that playing online games could be hurtful to his development but this summer an interesting personality trait unveiled itself. We were teaching him how to water-ski and as soon as he learned how to get up on the skis (even though he only glided on the water for about five seconds) he immediately wanted to learn how to pass over the wake of the wave caused by the boat. It was almost as if he had “beat” the level of water-skiing and was ready to “advance” to the next level as if he were playing an online game. Additionally, there are many times when he preferred to stay home and play computer games instead of going out with his friends and family for dinner.
I believe that the space that my younger cousin spends most his time in is a mix between the World Wide Web and a similar version of what Wallace classifies as a MUD game. It is almost as if he doesn’t feel like socializing and making friends with other children his age, so he seeks comfort in his own personal virtual reality.
An Internet phenomenon that I’m interested in is what kind of influence Internet gaming has on younger children. Even though I feel as if my generation was lucky to “grow up” and mature with the convenience of the Internet, I worry sometimes that future generations may not be as fortunate. For example, when I was younger, I spent my days playing imaginary “house” with my girlfriends and the game CLUE with my family. On the other hand, my younger cousin (seven years old) has had his own computer with Internet access since he was five years old. Outside of school, he spends more time playing online games than he does socializing and interacting with other children. I wouldn’t automatically assume that playing online games could be hurtful to his development but this summer an interesting personality trait unveiled itself. We were teaching him how to water-ski and as soon as he learned how to get up on the skis (even though he only glided on the water for about five seconds) he immediately wanted to learn how to pass over the wake of the wave caused by the boat. It was almost as if he had “beat” the level of water-skiing and was ready to “advance” to the next level as if he were playing an online game. Additionally, there are many times when he preferred to stay home and play computer games instead of going out with his friends and family for dinner.
I believe that the space that my younger cousin spends most his time in is a mix between the World Wide Web and a similar version of what Wallace classifies as a MUD game. It is almost as if he doesn’t feel like socializing and making friends with other children his age, so he seeks comfort in his own personal virtual reality.
Monday, August 27, 2007
YouTube Democractic Debate?!?!
Greetings Blue Blog! My name is Thea Cole and I’m a Senior in the lovely School of Industrial and Labor Relations. I am one of few ILRies interested in Human Resource Management—no law school for me. (WARNING: shameless plug for my organization coming) I am President of Society for Human Resource Management here at Cornell and I encourage anyone interested to come check us out in the ILR School.
Honestly, I barely knew what a blog was before this past summer when my boss introduced me to the notion of a professional blog. I was intrigued and a little perplexed by the fact that these hard-working businesspeople took the time out of their lives to share their expertise with the world via internet. But I digress, because this is not the internet phenomena that I wanted to discuss. What has truly surprised me is YouTube’s appearance in the media.
YouTube definitely falls into Wallace’s seventh category: interactive video and voice. Last year I separated myself from the YouTube fad for fear of procrastinating my life away. Now, fast forward to this summer—where I was trapped in my hotel room with nothing to watch except for CNN; imagine my surprise when the “YouTube Democratic Debate” was announced to begin. What?!—a chance for any YouTube user to submit a video-message question to the eight Democratic Presidential candidates. I was intrigued. I must admit that it was the most captivating political debate that I have watched in a long time. Was using YouTube for a debate a way to attract the younger crowd of US citizens who refuse to vote? Is YouTube the way to give a voice to the “Common (Wo)man?” How will “user-generated video” evolve and influence political campaigns in the future?
Sidenote: If you are submitting your question to the Democratic Presidential Candidates to be aired on CNN, please edit your video. There is no reason the camera should be up your nose or that your question is riddle with “umm”s and “eerr”s. Isn’t editing the beauty of submitting a question through video versus in person. Wouldn’t you want to put your best foot forward? Sorry, my own personal venting.
Honestly, I barely knew what a blog was before this past summer when my boss introduced me to the notion of a professional blog. I was intrigued and a little perplexed by the fact that these hard-working businesspeople took the time out of their lives to share their expertise with the world via internet. But I digress, because this is not the internet phenomena that I wanted to discuss. What has truly surprised me is YouTube’s appearance in the media.
YouTube definitely falls into Wallace’s seventh category: interactive video and voice. Last year I separated myself from the YouTube fad for fear of procrastinating my life away. Now, fast forward to this summer—where I was trapped in my hotel room with nothing to watch except for CNN; imagine my surprise when the “YouTube Democratic Debate” was announced to begin. What?!—a chance for any YouTube user to submit a video-message question to the eight Democratic Presidential candidates. I was intrigued. I must admit that it was the most captivating political debate that I have watched in a long time. Was using YouTube for a debate a way to attract the younger crowd of US citizens who refuse to vote? Is YouTube the way to give a voice to the “Common (Wo)man?” How will “user-generated video” evolve and influence political campaigns in the future?
Sidenote: If you are submitting your question to the Democratic Presidential Candidates to be aired on CNN, please edit your video. There is no reason the camera should be up your nose or that your question is riddle with “umm”s and “eerr”s. Isn’t editing the beauty of submitting a question through video versus in person. Wouldn’t you want to put your best foot forward? Sorry, my own personal venting.
Internet Videos
Hello everyone! My name is Ian Laiks. I am a junior in the school of Industrial Labor Relations. I am from north Jersey, Saddle River to be specific. I transferred last year from Colgate University, located in Hamilton, New York. For all of you who think that Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere, take a trip down to Hamilton, a town the size of North Campus where there are more cows than people. I really enjoy it here at Cornell and plan to go into Human Resources when I get out. I am a brother in Alpha Epsilon Pi and a member of the ILR Sports Management Club. Extracurricularly (if there is such a word…Microsoft Word tells me no) I play the drums and I am into sports, especially football. I like to take an interesting class outside of my major each semester to spice things up. At Colgate there was one about dinosaurs (if you ever get the chance, take a course on dinos…you won’t regret it) and last semester I took a course on visual communication. This course seemed very interesting to me, and I look forward to seeing what is has to offer.
What really interest me about the internet are the ludicrous videos available for viewing on the web that become national phenomena, otherwise known as “memes.” Don’t get me wrong, I love nothing more than to spend my free time searching for videos of people making fools of themselves for all to see, but it amazes me how many millions of other people out there have seen the same dumb videos I have. I’m sure many of us have seen the Bro Rape skit or the Numa Numa song video, both of which have become classics on the internet. Many people also pass these on to their colleagues, whether by e-mail or just showing them in a dorm room. I myself am guilty of this. What perplexes me, however, is why these things become so popular. If my friend came to me with a home video of himself dancing half naked and singing to some strange song in a made-up language, I would call him a weirdo and be a little disturbed by it. On the internet however, the individuals in these videos have nothing to be ashamed of, as they become celebrities across the nation. I wonder why people can get away with doing, along with enjoy viewing, things that would be viewed as unbecoming and downright creepy in the real world.
These videos take place in the World Wide Web, where individuals can search for and view them. If there are located on a site such as youtube.com, they can also be a part of an asynchronous discussion forum, where people can post responses to the videos and reply to other’s posts.
What really interest me about the internet are the ludicrous videos available for viewing on the web that become national phenomena, otherwise known as “memes.” Don’t get me wrong, I love nothing more than to spend my free time searching for videos of people making fools of themselves for all to see, but it amazes me how many millions of other people out there have seen the same dumb videos I have. I’m sure many of us have seen the Bro Rape skit or the Numa Numa song video, both of which have become classics on the internet. Many people also pass these on to their colleagues, whether by e-mail or just showing them in a dorm room. I myself am guilty of this. What perplexes me, however, is why these things become so popular. If my friend came to me with a home video of himself dancing half naked and singing to some strange song in a made-up language, I would call him a weirdo and be a little disturbed by it. On the internet however, the individuals in these videos have nothing to be ashamed of, as they become celebrities across the nation. I wonder why people can get away with doing, along with enjoy viewing, things that would be viewed as unbecoming and downright creepy in the real world.
These videos take place in the World Wide Web, where individuals can search for and view them. If there are located on a site such as youtube.com, they can also be a part of an asynchronous discussion forum, where people can post responses to the videos and reply to other’s posts.
Hi!
Hi everybody! My name is Christine Hennigan and I'm a junior Human Development major. I'm taking this course because I'm excited to learn about ways to apply knowledge that I've learned in my other psych courses, and I feel like this course is a great way to explore a more practical and relevant side of psychology.
A little about me...I'm an active member of my sorority and I'm also an RA in the Psych department. I'm currently considering a career in Marketing but will always try to leave open the option of going to grad school for either clinical or school psychology or possibly secondary education in English. I love the fine arts and try to paint and silkscreen when I can. Most of all, I like to write and hope that I can pursue a career in writing on the side of whatever I end up doing in the future.
An internet phenomenon that interests me...well, I feel as if Instant Messenger has played a big role in helping me to keep in touch with my family and friends back home in New Jersey. Sometimes when I know I should call my parents to let them know I'm still alive and well, it is so much easier for me to tell them to just go on AIM instead of sitting and talking on the phone. I hate the phone, because I always find it hard to multitask...so if I'm going to take out the time to talk on the phone, I better not have something else that needs to get done at the same time. But with AIM, not only can I do a ton of other things online at the same time, I can write to multiple people instead of committing to just one. Of course, its not nearly as personal and many times information is misconstrued without the help of tone and facial expressions, but IMing at least gives you time to proof what you say, so you can think twice about what you are communicating to the other person.
To categorize IMing, I'd have to say its a form of synchronous chat. With IMing, you are directly connected to a person who is also online and writing to you at the same time.
A little about me...I'm an active member of my sorority and I'm also an RA in the Psych department. I'm currently considering a career in Marketing but will always try to leave open the option of going to grad school for either clinical or school psychology or possibly secondary education in English. I love the fine arts and try to paint and silkscreen when I can. Most of all, I like to write and hope that I can pursue a career in writing on the side of whatever I end up doing in the future.
An internet phenomenon that interests me...well, I feel as if Instant Messenger has played a big role in helping me to keep in touch with my family and friends back home in New Jersey. Sometimes when I know I should call my parents to let them know I'm still alive and well, it is so much easier for me to tell them to just go on AIM instead of sitting and talking on the phone. I hate the phone, because I always find it hard to multitask...so if I'm going to take out the time to talk on the phone, I better not have something else that needs to get done at the same time. But with AIM, not only can I do a ton of other things online at the same time, I can write to multiple people instead of committing to just one. Of course, its not nearly as personal and many times information is misconstrued without the help of tone and facial expressions, but IMing at least gives you time to proof what you say, so you can think twice about what you are communicating to the other person.
To categorize IMing, I'd have to say its a form of synchronous chat. With IMing, you are directly connected to a person who is also online and writing to you at the same time.
fantasy sports
Hi everyone—My name is Daniel Gordon and I am a sophomore in the Hotel School. As Mike Mussina currently blows the Yankee’s season by gift-wrapping tonight’s game for the Detroit Tigers, (diminishing any chance of the Yankees winning the division even with the Red Sox coming to town tomorrow evening), I have decided to switch gears to homework.
Usually I am quite an optimistic sports fan, and still do believe the Yankees can grab a playoff spot via the wild-card. The other teams that I root for, being a Long Island native, are the Knicks, Rangers and NY football Giants. Sports in general are my biggest interest and play a clear role in the Internet phenomenon I am most interested in: fantasy sports.
Fantasy sports have gained mainstream popularity in the last 5 or 6 years and have become part of the lifestyle of hardcore fans across the world. Espn.com, yahoo.com, and cbs.sportsline.com are some of the more popular websites that host fantasy sports games on the Internet. Basically, the concept is a bunch of friends (in a private league) or friendly strangers (in a public league), in an NFL fantasy league for example, each get to select professional football players from the NFL for his or her own personal team based that will be ranked solely on players’ statistical performance. You become a general manager- draft the team, make the trades, pick up free-agents etc. Fans interact with each other; Fans interact on a fantasy level with real professional athletes. Participants often pay an entry fee for a cash payout at the end of the season that becomes a reward for the top few teams.
Overall, fantasy games online are changing the way we watch and pay attention to sports. Fantasy sports have seemingly made it OK to root for players on other teams, even when they are playing your hometown team. While I enjoy tracking players’ stats and showing off an overall knowledge of sports, it truly bothers me when fans root for players that in real life are playing against the fan’s favorite team, just because the fan wants their fantasy team to do well. The online-world of fantasy sports has also changed the way many fans analyze particular players. Fantasy team owners know exactly how many assists Kobe Bryant had in his last game and since they have such an astute knowledge of the statistics, are unafraid to make brash judgments about his play, such as deeming him a ball-hog, without watching a single minute of the game. In sports, a lot of the action does not always appear on the stat-sheets.
Online fantasy sports games have also given my high-school friends a forum to stay in touch and compete with each other. Fantasy sports leagues have become a yearly competitive tradition and have helped kept many of my old friends close. Even professionals such as office workers and teachers, etc. compete in fantasy sports leagues, especially the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament, for the camaraderie and social-interaction aspect as well.
Usually I am quite an optimistic sports fan, and still do believe the Yankees can grab a playoff spot via the wild-card. The other teams that I root for, being a Long Island native, are the Knicks, Rangers and NY football Giants. Sports in general are my biggest interest and play a clear role in the Internet phenomenon I am most interested in: fantasy sports.
Fantasy sports have gained mainstream popularity in the last 5 or 6 years and have become part of the lifestyle of hardcore fans across the world. Espn.com, yahoo.com, and cbs.sportsline.com are some of the more popular websites that host fantasy sports games on the Internet. Basically, the concept is a bunch of friends (in a private league) or friendly strangers (in a public league), in an NFL fantasy league for example, each get to select professional football players from the NFL for his or her own personal team based that will be ranked solely on players’ statistical performance. You become a general manager- draft the team, make the trades, pick up free-agents etc. Fans interact with each other; Fans interact on a fantasy level with real professional athletes. Participants often pay an entry fee for a cash payout at the end of the season that becomes a reward for the top few teams.
Overall, fantasy games online are changing the way we watch and pay attention to sports. Fantasy sports have seemingly made it OK to root for players on other teams, even when they are playing your hometown team. While I enjoy tracking players’ stats and showing off an overall knowledge of sports, it truly bothers me when fans root for players that in real life are playing against the fan’s favorite team, just because the fan wants their fantasy team to do well. The online-world of fantasy sports has also changed the way many fans analyze particular players. Fantasy team owners know exactly how many assists Kobe Bryant had in his last game and since they have such an astute knowledge of the statistics, are unafraid to make brash judgments about his play, such as deeming him a ball-hog, without watching a single minute of the game. In sports, a lot of the action does not always appear on the stat-sheets.
Online fantasy sports games have also given my high-school friends a forum to stay in touch and compete with each other. Fantasy sports leagues have become a yearly competitive tradition and have helped kept many of my old friends close. Even professionals such as office workers and teachers, etc. compete in fantasy sports leagues, especially the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament, for the camaraderie and social-interaction aspect as well.
Assignment One
My name is Brianne Gilbert. I am a junior majoring in AEM and taking a minor in Communications, and I am also on the Cornell Women's ice hockey team.
One thing that has puzzled me regarding the internet is "internet dating." I do not understand how people can confide in people they meet over the internet. There is so much anonymity on the internet and anyone can say anything they want about themselves. What is it about the internet that makes people comfortable about sharing their life stories and personal information with complete strangers who could potentially be someone completely different than who they say they are (sometimes even without even seeing a picture of the other person)?
There are so many commercials on TV regarding such websites as "eHarmony" that claim to match you based on a certain number of levels of compatibility. Also, with photoshop and other manipulation tools it is so easy to alter one's looks so even if there is a picture present it could easily have been altered. But at the end of the day there are some people who end up marrying the man or woman they meet online. I am interested to find out how people can have such feelings purely over the internet without any physical interaction with each other.
One thing that has puzzled me regarding the internet is "internet dating." I do not understand how people can confide in people they meet over the internet. There is so much anonymity on the internet and anyone can say anything they want about themselves. What is it about the internet that makes people comfortable about sharing their life stories and personal information with complete strangers who could potentially be someone completely different than who they say they are (sometimes even without even seeing a picture of the other person)?
There are so many commercials on TV regarding such websites as "eHarmony" that claim to match you based on a certain number of levels of compatibility. Also, with photoshop and other manipulation tools it is so easy to alter one's looks so even if there is a picture present it could easily have been altered. But at the end of the day there are some people who end up marrying the man or woman they meet online. I am interested to find out how people can have such feelings purely over the internet without any physical interaction with each other.
Texting = poking your ex with a stick, or Philippine phenomenon?
Good morning, afternoon, and evening to you all, this is Kris Canlas communicating to you through an asynchronous medium over the internet. *gasp!* I'm a senior Biology major with a concentration in Animal Physiology in CALS, and also a member of The Chordials, co-ed a-cappella group.
One phenomenon that has swept campuses and countries all over the world is text messaging. It is an asynchronous form of messaging facilitated by the use of cell phones, and allows people to send messages a few sentences long to others in a matter of seconds. One can check these messages at any time, day or night, at their convenience, and respond to them in a similar fashion. Do people send text messages because they are cheap and lazy, or economical and efficient? My ex-boyfriend used to hate talking on the phone, and would either communicate with me in person, or go about getting his point across in a succinct text message. To him, it was either communicate properly, or barely do it at all. Whether to our benefit or demise, this form of 'bare communication' is now endemic to nations worldwide. Text messaging lacks the warmth and realness that comes with speaking to someone in person, or even on the phone, and creates dialogue that is limited in complexity and sophistication. We even text-messaged each other after the relationship had ended, when I didn't want to hear the sound of his obnoxious voice, and text messaging was as good as poking him with a stick.
Texting, however, can be viewed as a positive technological innovation for its efficiency and economical nature. Just ask one of 10 million cell phone owners in the Philippines, the "texting capital of the world". An article in The Mercury News of San Jose, California, says that text messaging in the Philippines "isn't just a craze, it's a way of life. This country's 80 million people send 160 million cell phone messages a day." Companies don't offer the myriad of 'free' minutes that we Americans take for granted, so texting is an inexpensive way to chat. Each message costs approximately 1 peso (50P ~ $1). In a country that has a 70% poverty rate, it's not surprising that this method of communication is so popular. Text messaging is used by everyone from cab drivers to corporate executives, and is even popular with the country's president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Boston Globe). It provides a means to be connected to loved ones anywhere at any time, and with diligence, entire conversations can be carried on by this frugal means.
When economic situations are varied, texting can be a salient form of communication, or a brief and easy way of getting one's point across. In the case of natives of the Philippines, talking to your friends and family via text is an easy way to get around paying enormous bills. However, if verbal communication is a practical option, as it is in the US, it would be better to pick up the phone to call Mom if you really wanted to touch base with her.
One phenomenon that has swept campuses and countries all over the world is text messaging. It is an asynchronous form of messaging facilitated by the use of cell phones, and allows people to send messages a few sentences long to others in a matter of seconds. One can check these messages at any time, day or night, at their convenience, and respond to them in a similar fashion. Do people send text messages because they are cheap and lazy, or economical and efficient? My ex-boyfriend used to hate talking on the phone, and would either communicate with me in person, or go about getting his point across in a succinct text message. To him, it was either communicate properly, or barely do it at all. Whether to our benefit or demise, this form of 'bare communication' is now endemic to nations worldwide. Text messaging lacks the warmth and realness that comes with speaking to someone in person, or even on the phone, and creates dialogue that is limited in complexity and sophistication. We even text-messaged each other after the relationship had ended, when I didn't want to hear the sound of his obnoxious voice, and text messaging was as good as poking him with a stick.
Texting, however, can be viewed as a positive technological innovation for its efficiency and economical nature. Just ask one of 10 million cell phone owners in the Philippines, the "texting capital of the world". An article in The Mercury News of San Jose, California, says that text messaging in the Philippines "isn't just a craze, it's a way of life. This country's 80 million people send 160 million cell phone messages a day." Companies don't offer the myriad of 'free' minutes that we Americans take for granted, so texting is an inexpensive way to chat. Each message costs approximately 1 peso (50P ~ $1). In a country that has a 70% poverty rate, it's not surprising that this method of communication is so popular. Text messaging is used by everyone from cab drivers to corporate executives, and is even popular with the country's president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Boston Globe). It provides a means to be connected to loved ones anywhere at any time, and with diligence, entire conversations can be carried on by this frugal means.
When economic situations are varied, texting can be a salient form of communication, or a brief and easy way of getting one's point across. In the case of natives of the Philippines, talking to your friends and family via text is an easy way to get around paying enormous bills. However, if verbal communication is a practical option, as it is in the US, it would be better to pick up the phone to call Mom if you really wanted to touch base with her.
You #2: The Virtual Self
Hi Blue Blog, my name is Lauren Kramer and I’m a sophomore Communication major. I chose to take this class essentially because it sounded cool, but also because I’ve done research with Jeff and he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to this stuff. Though, thanks to our intelligent professor, I feel relatively well-versed in facebook deception and internet stalking, I’m definitely new to the so-called ‘blogosphere.’ I’m a little nervous but will give it my best shot.
So, here goes: my first real blog. I feel almost as awkward doing this as talking to myself out loud. I’m not sure why I feel so odd doing this; I express myself through instant message/e-mail/facebook at least 49 times each day. So what’s so weird about this? I think it’s that I’m trying to shape the way I come off to the interchangeable reader. If not a friend of mine already, what must he/she think of me? Of my personality? My sense of humor? The way I look? This very conundrum, in fact, is what leads me to the main point.
Ever notice the girls who stretch out their default facebook picture to make themselves look leaner? What about the ones who jut their elbows out while posing for pictures in order to ensure optimal muscle tonus? Not sure what I mean yet? How about the ‘picturewhores’ – you know, the ones who make a kissy face or peace sign in at least 50% of the night’s photographic evidence? Why do we do this? Who are we trying to please?
Back in middle school, we jazzed up our profile fonts and colors with cool codes and alternating capital letters to come off as interesting, crazy or fun. Once myspace got big, the competition was on for the emo-iest emo music and the craziest background photo. The key distinction here is who we are trying to appear to be, as opposed to who we are in real life.
The internet has this imperceptible way of skewing our perceptions. Ever receive a ‘rude’ e-mail as the product of someone trying to message you in a hurry? Though a tool of apparently infinite power and influence over our everyday lives, the Internet is almost limiting. We have to fight to create an internet identity. Because, otherwise, who am I besides lbk29@cornell.edu? We may crop pictures, we may use fancy fonts and effects, but the heart of the matter is this: the Internet forces us to invent a second identity.
Facebook, myspace, instant messenger and social-networking programs in general are dimensions of technology that the user him/herself must seek out. It is the duty of each user to create his ‘web’ self, and the boundaries are self-imposed. It is up to each individual to ‘friend,’ ‘IM,’ ‘message,’ and ‘poke,’ and each of these actions helps us to create our unique virtual personality. In the end, I guess, I’ve got only one thing to say: “Friend me!”
So, here goes: my first real blog. I feel almost as awkward doing this as talking to myself out loud. I’m not sure why I feel so odd doing this; I express myself through instant message/e-mail/facebook at least 49 times each day. So what’s so weird about this? I think it’s that I’m trying to shape the way I come off to the interchangeable reader. If not a friend of mine already, what must he/she think of me? Of my personality? My sense of humor? The way I look? This very conundrum, in fact, is what leads me to the main point.
Ever notice the girls who stretch out their default facebook picture to make themselves look leaner? What about the ones who jut their elbows out while posing for pictures in order to ensure optimal muscle tonus? Not sure what I mean yet? How about the ‘picturewhores’ – you know, the ones who make a kissy face or peace sign in at least 50% of the night’s photographic evidence? Why do we do this? Who are we trying to please?
Back in middle school, we jazzed up our profile fonts and colors with cool codes and alternating capital letters to come off as interesting, crazy or fun. Once myspace got big, the competition was on for the emo-iest emo music and the craziest background photo. The key distinction here is who we are trying to appear to be, as opposed to who we are in real life.
The internet has this imperceptible way of skewing our perceptions. Ever receive a ‘rude’ e-mail as the product of someone trying to message you in a hurry? Though a tool of apparently infinite power and influence over our everyday lives, the Internet is almost limiting. We have to fight to create an internet identity. Because, otherwise, who am I besides lbk29@cornell.edu? We may crop pictures, we may use fancy fonts and effects, but the heart of the matter is this: the Internet forces us to invent a second identity.
Facebook, myspace, instant messenger and social-networking programs in general are dimensions of technology that the user him/herself must seek out. It is the duty of each user to create his ‘web’ self, and the boundaries are self-imposed. It is up to each individual to ‘friend,’ ‘IM,’ ‘message,’ and ‘poke,’ and each of these actions helps us to create our unique virtual personality. In the end, I guess, I’ve got only one thing to say: “Friend me!”
Hey Everyone
Hey Everybody, my name is Will Douglas and I am a 20 year old Junior here at Cornell. I'm from the small town of Broadalbin, located in upstate New York. I'm sure you've never heard of it, so to give you a general idea it's located about thirty minutes west of Albany. I just recently transferred to Cornell this year from the small college of SUNY Cobleskill; another small place most of you have probably never heard of. During my stint at Cobleskill I recieved my Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts with a minor in Physical Education. I was also quite involved on campus. I was a member of the men's soccer team, a Resident Assistant for two semesters, a Student Ambassador, and I held many other odd jobs on campus as well. I transferred to Cornell to major in Communication in hope of someday becoming a sportscastor or atleast obtain some type of affiliation with ESPN in the future. I love sports, as well as, communication, so it seemed like the right path to take. We'll see what happens. Here, at Cornell I'm quite involved as well. I was just recently hired to work for the Cornell Fitness Centers, I'm currently training to become a sportscastor and DJ for WVBR 93.5, the local radio station here in Itaca, and I have intentions of joining a Fraternity in the future, I just have to find the right one. Well, for the most part, that's me.
As for the internet phenomenon that interests me the most, it has to be youtube.com. It just boggles my mind to see how this website exploded over the past few years. For the most part, YouTube was founded on people doing stupid, dangerous things to themselves, and then broadcasting it to the entire world. Now, YouTube has become so large and profound, that not only can you instantly find thousands of videos of people doing strange, dangerous things to themselves, but you can also find an episode of your favorite television show you might have missed, or a favorite commerical, movie blunder...you name it and it can be found on YouTube. The thing that interests me the most, is that a site that was founded on people hurting themselves, is now used by presidential candidates for their campaign. I just don't really understand it, and I find it absolutely fascinating. I guess I understand that fact that YouTube can be considered as another form of "mass" media, and since so many people view the site it makes since to campaign where the general public spends alot of time. The thing I don't understand is the evolution of the site from basically, an amateur "Jackass" site, to a site in which presidential candidates see fit enough to broadcast their campaigns. Pretty fascinating if you ask me.
As for the online environment or space in which YouTube takes place in, I don't think Patricia Wallace ever dreamed of such a space to exist. Then again, she does talk about how the space of the World Wide Web is a space used for self publishing, and technically that is what YouTube is all about. Although, YouTube videos are exactly "published" they are posted for the entire world to view, and technically publishing is defined as making something publically known. So, although I'm almost positive that Patricia Wallace never imagined a space quite like YouTube during the writing of her book, technically it fits in her definition of the environment or space known as the World Wide Web.
Enjoy everybody,
~Will Douglas
As for the internet phenomenon that interests me the most, it has to be youtube.com. It just boggles my mind to see how this website exploded over the past few years. For the most part, YouTube was founded on people doing stupid, dangerous things to themselves, and then broadcasting it to the entire world. Now, YouTube has become so large and profound, that not only can you instantly find thousands of videos of people doing strange, dangerous things to themselves, but you can also find an episode of your favorite television show you might have missed, or a favorite commerical, movie blunder...you name it and it can be found on YouTube. The thing that interests me the most, is that a site that was founded on people hurting themselves, is now used by presidential candidates for their campaign. I just don't really understand it, and I find it absolutely fascinating. I guess I understand that fact that YouTube can be considered as another form of "mass" media, and since so many people view the site it makes since to campaign where the general public spends alot of time. The thing I don't understand is the evolution of the site from basically, an amateur "Jackass" site, to a site in which presidential candidates see fit enough to broadcast their campaigns. Pretty fascinating if you ask me.
As for the online environment or space in which YouTube takes place in, I don't think Patricia Wallace ever dreamed of such a space to exist. Then again, she does talk about how the space of the World Wide Web is a space used for self publishing, and technically that is what YouTube is all about. Although, YouTube videos are exactly "published" they are posted for the entire world to view, and technically publishing is defined as making something publically known. So, although I'm almost positive that Patricia Wallace never imagined a space quite like YouTube during the writing of her book, technically it fits in her definition of the environment or space known as the World Wide Web.
Enjoy everybody,
~Will Douglas
I think this is my first blog ever...
Hi everyone. My name is Kayla and I’m a 19-year-old sophomore from Oneonta, New York. I know – you haven’t heard of it – but it’s an upstate, small town near Cooperstown with weather comparable to the ever-temperate Ithaca. Here at Cornell, I’m an Industrial and Labor Relations major with a concentration in Information Science (random, I know :-P). I’m also a Cornell Tradition fellow, a member of Shadows Dance Troupe, and the new Layout and Design Manager for Voices magazine (we just distributed our latest issue on Religion and Politics, so check it out!). I work at Cornell Fitness Centers, volunteer as a free Tax Preparer at a Credit Union downtown, love dancing, rock climbing, guitar, running, and doing anything my mother deems dangerous. I want to be a lawyer, and that’s generally the plan.
Though the Internet rarely fails to fascinate me in more ways than one, I find myself currently questioning the ongoing obsession with ringtones. This includes all of those websites dedicated to ringtone downloads, creating custom ringtones, and tricking you into monthly fees just so that the latest T-Pain song will play every time you accidentally leave your phone on in lecture. The advertisements seem to be everywhere I look – from the Internet, to my television, to those annoying text messages received on my mobile phone. Though I held out for a long time (using the classic ring sound or vibrate when appropriate), I admittedly starting using music about a year ago and still have no idea why. I find my ringtones annoying; and yet when it comes time to choose one, I can’t help but think it’s a reflection of me – just like the clothing I wear, or the things I do – and thus very important. In reality, my ringtone probably does nothing more than remind friends of my poor musical taste, embarrass me in formal situations, or musically assault innocent bystanders when I get a call (because – and I think you know what I mean here – that thing seems louder every time).
Perhaps ringtone websites belong in the “World Wide Web” category as just another thing people are looking for, though I doubt Wallace could have anticipated such an interesting phenomenon. From a technological standpoint, however, I hesitate to neglect the “interactive video and voice” category. After all, cellular phones have come a long way in recent years, making accessing the Internet, downloading, playing and storing ringtones on a phone possible. One could certainly draw parallels between the technological advances necessary for elaborate phones and ringtones, and the technological advances occurring in the “interactive video and voice” category – particularly in terms of sound technology.
And just for good measure: check out phonezoo.com. You can make a ringtone from any song on your computer and download it using your phone for free ;)
Blogging
Hi, I’m Stefani…not steFANI like Gwen Stefani, but Stefani like Stephanie. Thanks to Gwen, my name gets mispronounced a lot. I’m a junior, human development major, from Rockland County, NY, about 25 miles outside of New York City. I am interested in working with people, but at this point, I don’t really have a specific career field in mind. This summer I interned at Nickelodeon, in the Research Headquarters Department, and I loved it. I like the idea of combining the HD “child knowledge” with business in order to figure out what works/doesn’t work in terms of products and marketing for kids. You still get to interact with kids through focus groups and one-on-one interviews and are not stuck sitting in an office 24/7.
This semester I am continuing with research, working on a project about children’s testimony. I am a Human Ecology Ambassador and I work in Human Ecology’s Career Development Center critiquing resumes, cover letters, and helping students find internships and externships. I also love playing tennis and traveling.
An internet-related phenomenon that I am interested in is blogging. Why blog? What motivates people to publicize their daily activities, events, and feelings, and why do strangers read it? I remember in middle school/high school, live journals were the “in” thing to have. For the most part, they were used as a supplement for face-to-face conversations – venting about school, crushes, and the now ex-best-friend who was dating the ex-boyfriend. While people would not dare to say half of the things they typed face-to-face, live journals were used as a space to write anything and everything.
While I suppose it is easier to say how you truly feel to a computer, rather than to the face of a friend, crush, or teacher, why make it public? What happened to the diaries that had a lock and were hidden under peoples’ pillows? Blogging has dropped privacy along the wayside. Even for those who write anonymously (which gives them some sense of privacy), there is still the public aspect of sharing your feelings and experiences with the world.
Blogging also gives people a way to circumvent face-to-face people interaction – is this really a good thing? Instead of just typing it, shouldn’t we also be expressing ourselves face-to-face with other people? From school to work to extracurricular activities, people need to know more than just savvy computer skills – they need to know how to get along with others, how to work out problems, and express themselves in a respectful, appropriate way. I don’t think bosses or coworkers would be thrilled to unexpectedly find themselves the subject of an angry blog. While blogging may be considered almost therapeutic in the sense of venting and telling the world who you are and how you feel, does it really help us get by in the real world?
I think that blogging would fall under both the world wide web and asynchronous discussion environment. Blogs are in the world wide web environment because they are posted on the internet and I think that some of them may be considered asynchronous discussion since people respond and post replies to each other.
This semester I am continuing with research, working on a project about children’s testimony. I am a Human Ecology Ambassador and I work in Human Ecology’s Career Development Center critiquing resumes, cover letters, and helping students find internships and externships. I also love playing tennis and traveling.
An internet-related phenomenon that I am interested in is blogging. Why blog? What motivates people to publicize their daily activities, events, and feelings, and why do strangers read it? I remember in middle school/high school, live journals were the “in” thing to have. For the most part, they were used as a supplement for face-to-face conversations – venting about school, crushes, and the now ex-best-friend who was dating the ex-boyfriend. While people would not dare to say half of the things they typed face-to-face, live journals were used as a space to write anything and everything.
While I suppose it is easier to say how you truly feel to a computer, rather than to the face of a friend, crush, or teacher, why make it public? What happened to the diaries that had a lock and were hidden under peoples’ pillows? Blogging has dropped privacy along the wayside. Even for those who write anonymously (which gives them some sense of privacy), there is still the public aspect of sharing your feelings and experiences with the world.
Blogging also gives people a way to circumvent face-to-face people interaction – is this really a good thing? Instead of just typing it, shouldn’t we also be expressing ourselves face-to-face with other people? From school to work to extracurricular activities, people need to know more than just savvy computer skills – they need to know how to get along with others, how to work out problems, and express themselves in a respectful, appropriate way. I don’t think bosses or coworkers would be thrilled to unexpectedly find themselves the subject of an angry blog. While blogging may be considered almost therapeutic in the sense of venting and telling the world who you are and how you feel, does it really help us get by in the real world?
I think that blogging would fall under both the world wide web and asynchronous discussion environment. Blogs are in the world wide web environment because they are posted on the internet and I think that some of them may be considered asynchronous discussion since people respond and post replies to each other.
An introduction and a thought.
Hello fellow Comm 245ers. My name is Joe Kerekes and I'm a junior in Electrical and Computer Engineering, most likely with a focus on computer architecture. My personal history is a little complicated, but it's always fun to tell. I was born in the US near Chicago, but until I got to Cornell, I had never lived in the States. Instead, I've lived in Vancouver, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Doha, Qatar, and finally Toronto. Like I said, complicated. My dad works as a doctor overseas, where he still is now, so I lived wherever he found work.
Despite living overseas for the majority of my life, I consider myself a proud Canadian. I'm easy going, friendly, and I love telling and hearing good stories. I play the tenor sax, but I haven't yet saved up enough for my own. I enjoy reading Isaac Asimov and Orsen Scott Card. It may be too obvious to say, but I also am fascinated by computer hardware. After all, why suffer through ECE if one doesn't ultimately (i.e. Not right after missing Slope Day to design a processor) find it interesting and enjoyable?
As for an internet related phenomenon that piques my interest, there are almost too many to choose. The unfortunate phenomenon that seems to get on my nerves the most is how many people will outright lie and boast about abilities, qualifications or knowledge that are quickly revealed as the outrageous claims they are. Yet many times they continue to claim truthfulness after such revelations. What drives people, psychologically, to telling lies and sticking to them despite the lack of any apparent benefit to doing so? One is not going to get a job, or a raise, by posting on informal forums or chatting on IRC with strangers. While one may gain temporary recognition or praise, thanks to the anonymity of the internet and the easy and quick access to vast amounts of knowledge (Wikipedia/Google), after being revealed, why continue?
What irks me about this phenomenon, aside from a general dislike of overwhelmingly stubborn people, is that the conversation can rapidly devolve into flaming by all involved. Suddenly and sadly a discussion ends, a game is ruined, or a thread of intellectual thought is lost. I've seen this phenomenon take place in numerous environments; in a party in World of Warcraft, a thread on evilavatar.com, in chat rooms, on IRC, on web pages, everywhere. The phenomenon seems to span all the spaces discussed in Wallace, although, the more personal focused the space; e-mail, private chat rooms, synchronous chat between friends, the less likely.
I look forward to an interesting semester and to reading more of your posts. Cheers!
Assignment # 1
Hello everyone, my name is Jessica Wallerstein. I am a junior in the college of human ecology and I am from Long Island, New York. I heard that this was a great class from a lot of people and I am looking forward to taking it this semester especially since this is my first communications class here at Cornell.
After thinking it through, I decided that You Tube is an internet phenomenon that truly fascinates me. I find it amazing all of the different videos that people post through this website. After viewing one for the first time, I found the website to be stupid and pointless. It seemed like it was a tool that people would use to waste their time creating video clips that the public might happen to view. It is interesting to see that although this internet resource is not completely anonymous, people seemed willing to express themselves without fear of judegment from others which greatly differs from face-to-face communication.
Over time, I also began to realize how effective You Tube could be for publicity especially because of its easy access to anyone who has use of a computer. This past summer I worked for a public relations firm in New York City and was astounding to hear that this internet resource was also being used in the workplace. My boss explained to me that they planned on creating a video to spread the word about a new toy that would be coming out during the upcoming holidays.
I think that it would be hard to classify this in an online space described in Wallace. If I had to place it somewhere, I think that it fits best into the World Wide Web category because it acts as a self-publisher, however, You Tube is a more recent development and perhaps it would fit best in a category of its own.
After thinking it through, I decided that You Tube is an internet phenomenon that truly fascinates me. I find it amazing all of the different videos that people post through this website. After viewing one for the first time, I found the website to be stupid and pointless. It seemed like it was a tool that people would use to waste their time creating video clips that the public might happen to view. It is interesting to see that although this internet resource is not completely anonymous, people seemed willing to express themselves without fear of judegment from others which greatly differs from face-to-face communication.
Over time, I also began to realize how effective You Tube could be for publicity especially because of its easy access to anyone who has use of a computer. This past summer I worked for a public relations firm in New York City and was astounding to hear that this internet resource was also being used in the workplace. My boss explained to me that they planned on creating a video to spread the word about a new toy that would be coming out during the upcoming holidays.
I think that it would be hard to classify this in an online space described in Wallace. If I had to place it somewhere, I think that it fits best into the World Wide Web category because it acts as a self-publisher, however, You Tube is a more recent development and perhaps it would fit best in a category of its own.
Hi everyone, my name's Laura Ries and I'm a Junior communication major and AEM minor. I was born and raised in Chicago, the actual city, not outside the city, so I have a pretty thick accent and get made fun of almost daily. I love Chicago so coming to such a smaller and quieter town was a big change for me. I love sports, especially tennis and basketball, I love fresh air, and I love listening to music and watching TV, even though I do it way too much. I'm not really sure what I want to do with my life; I'm interested in both print and broadcast journalism, public relations, media, and many other things.
This summer, I worked at NBC in New York in their entertainment publicity department. I kept track of all the publicity for the New York shows and got to write press releases, actor profiles, and make press kits (making them was not as exciting as it sounds). I also got to attend pre tapings, sit in Conan's chair, go to the Today Show and do a lot of things I never would have been able to do. However, one aspect of my job that helped us keep track of publicity was looking through blogs such as tmz.com, defamer, perezhilton, etc. I would have to scan through them and look for the NBC talent, but this is one phenomenon that I just don't understand. Why are people so obsessed with people they don't know. Facebook is another thing; constantly checking who has updated their profile or changed their picture gives us something to do other than homework or study. But I don't understand how people can follow celebrities, like Lindsay Lohan, around all day like they actually care about her 27th drug bust.
Facebook is another addicting phenomenon. My roommate freshman year would spend hours and hours at night sitting at her desk on facebook doing nothing else. It is something that so many people, for one reason or another, are addicted to. Even if we do not like the updates and changes that are being made, we keep going on to see if any more changes have been made. It would be interesting to see if anything like facebook, myspace, or friendster will come along soon that will attract us like these phenomenons have.
This summer, I worked at NBC in New York in their entertainment publicity department. I kept track of all the publicity for the New York shows and got to write press releases, actor profiles, and make press kits (making them was not as exciting as it sounds). I also got to attend pre tapings, sit in Conan's chair, go to the Today Show and do a lot of things I never would have been able to do. However, one aspect of my job that helped us keep track of publicity was looking through blogs such as tmz.com, defamer, perezhilton, etc. I would have to scan through them and look for the NBC talent, but this is one phenomenon that I just don't understand. Why are people so obsessed with people they don't know. Facebook is another thing; constantly checking who has updated their profile or changed their picture gives us something to do other than homework or study. But I don't understand how people can follow celebrities, like Lindsay Lohan, around all day like they actually care about her 27th drug bust.
Facebook is another addicting phenomenon. My roommate freshman year would spend hours and hours at night sitting at her desk on facebook doing nothing else. It is something that so many people, for one reason or another, are addicted to. Even if we do not like the updates and changes that are being made, we keep going on to see if any more changes have been made. It would be interesting to see if anything like facebook, myspace, or friendster will come along soon that will attract us like these phenomenons have.
Hello, my name is Chris McNally. I'm a junior in the College of Engineering studying Electrical and Computer Engineering. I was born on Long Island, NY, but I grew up in Duxbury, Massachusetts. It was a smaller town where pretty much everyone knew everyone, so the transition from there to Cornell was quite startling freshman year. I'm still amazed when the Cornell police drive by at 1 AM without stopping to ask what I'm doing out walking so late.
I play bass occasionally, listen to music a lot, and enjoy video games perhaps a little too much. This past summer I kicked my World of Warcraft habit, which was a fantastic feeling because I saw people (in person!) more than twice a week. I also worked as a bank teller this summer for Sovereign Bank in my home town, which has spurred a slight interest in finance in me.
This semester my main goals are to survive ECE303 and ECE315, and if I can find time I'm hoping to work on a project team. I have my eye on the MAE baja car, but if anyone knows any other teams that are looking for a junior ECE major email me (csm44) or leave a comment.
In my travels through the Internet I've become interested in discussion forums, or asynchronous chats as Wallace describes them. They vary in size tremendously, and that size vastly affects the climate of the community. For example, I post on a technology forum that has around twenty to thirty members. I also from time to time read the technology news site called Ars Technica, which has a forum of tremendous size (there are almost 4000 people reading that forum just a second ago when I checked.) I post on the small forum quite regularly, but I've never posted on Ars (Wallace would call me a lurker, although that label makes it seem like I'm something from the movie Aliens). The size of it makes it seems like some kind of faceless beast that would eat me if I tried to break into the community, where as the smaller forum was a lot easier to break into. I'm interested in if this is a common problem for communities of that size, and if so what is the general threshold for which a community stops seeming like a small, friendly community, and starts looking like a collective mass of impersonal posts.
Assignment number 1
My name is Kate Dewey. I am a sophomore communications major and play lacrosse here at Cornell. I was born in Bangor, Maine, but now live in New Hampshire. I love sports and being outside. Ithaca is awesome and I love being here in all seasons. I would like to live out west for a couple years after I graduate, but I think New England is where I’ll end up eventually. Some things I love include hiking, gorge jumping, biking and traveling. I feel weird blogging because I have never done it before. I have no experience with this topic of psychology of social computing and so I am looking forward to learning a lot and being opened to new areas of the internet. My computer skills are pretty limited and so I am hoping this class will make me more comfortable with computers in general as well as the web.
An internet-related phenomenon that interests me is the popularity of myspace.com. I have never had an account, but I don’t understand how people feel safe putting pictures and information about themselves up for the world to see without any privacy settings. How do people trust one another on the internet (while chatting through myspace etc for example)? There are so many scary people who lie and creep around the website. In a perfect world, it would be totally safe and nothing would be dangerous about talking to complete strangers who have common interests with you, but this unfortunately is not the case. And it’s sad to say, but in this day and age you can never be sure and need to be constantly aware of your surroundings and places you are visiting online.
This is an asynchronous discussion forum because conversations are had and messages are left, but it does not happen in real time. Myspace.com allows for continuous conversations where others can read and see the messages. It is not so much a forum, like the book says, but it is the closest online space that I could pin point it being.
An internet-related phenomenon that interests me is the popularity of myspace.com. I have never had an account, but I don’t understand how people feel safe putting pictures and information about themselves up for the world to see without any privacy settings. How do people trust one another on the internet (while chatting through myspace etc for example)? There are so many scary people who lie and creep around the website. In a perfect world, it would be totally safe and nothing would be dangerous about talking to complete strangers who have common interests with you, but this unfortunately is not the case. And it’s sad to say, but in this day and age you can never be sure and need to be constantly aware of your surroundings and places you are visiting online.
This is an asynchronous discussion forum because conversations are had and messages are left, but it does not happen in real time. Myspace.com allows for continuous conversations where others can read and see the messages. It is not so much a forum, like the book says, but it is the closest online space that I could pin point it being.
Online Gaming Addiction
Hi, my name is Sherrie Chavez and I am a senior majoring in Operations Research and Engineering. I’m taking this class because like many typical college students, online communities like Facebook and Myspace tend to take up more of my time than I’d like to admit. Being an engineer, these online communities are not exactly conducive to academic success yet I still can’t seem to pass up checking my email, Facebook and Myspace accounts on a routine basis.
One internet-related phenomenon that has particularly interested me is a massive multiplayer online role – playing game, World of Warcraft. In terms of Wallace’s internet environments, World of Warcraft would fall under the metaworld category. Having a significant amount of friends who enjoy playing “WoW”, I’ve always wondered what it was about the game that kept my friends glued to their computer screens for hours on end. For a game that was just released in November of 2004, World of Warcraft has gained much popularity over the years, attracting nine million subscribers worldwide.
WoW players control avatars, or graphical personas, within a vivid and imaginative game world. These avatars explore the landscape, fight monsters, and perform quests. Money, items and experience denote success and advance a player’s skill and power. Players can level their avatars from level one all the way up to level seventy.
Watching my friends play WoW with such great interest in their avatars’ progress, the game always seemed so pointless to me. To be completely honest, watching an online character wandering around some fictitious online gaming world isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.
It was not until I came across a couple of clips on YouTube posted by WoW gamers that I realized how many people were actually addicted to the game. I was shocked to find that it wasn’t uncommon for these online gamers to post odd things like music videos featuring their avatars wandering the game world. One post I found disturbing featured a funeral ceremony held in the WoW gaming realm for a gamer that had recently died in real life. The gamer’s friends had posted this ceremony on WoW message boards and later in the ceremony, some other gamers raided the ceremony and attacked those players who were paying their respects. The clip is a prime example of how some WoW players tend to lose touch with reality and neglect the distinction between the real world and the gaming world. Once I had seen this clip, I later found that World of Warcraft has in fact received much criticism due to serious online gaming addiction issues.
In my opinion, it’s scary to think about how addicted some online gamers can become to games like WoW. What is it about these online role playing games that causes some gamers to delve into the imaginary gaming world and lose touch with the real world?
Laziness?
Hey everyone, my name is Jamie Hacker and I am a sophomore in ILR. It might be really random that I am taking this class since I am in ILR, but I really enjoy many different aspects of what this class is about. I really enjoy Psychology and pretty much just learning about what makes us the way we are. Since we have grown up in the age of the Internet, it is only natural that we look at the Psychology of why the Internet has become such a crutch for people our age. On another note, I am from New Jersey, right outside of Philly, and I hope to someday be an entertainment or sports lawyer. This leads to an understanding of my personal infatuation with the internet.
I openly admit to being addicted to perezhilton.com as well as every other trashy gossip website that exists. I check perez at least 20 times a day, no joke. Is it that I am just obsessed with understanding the lives of celebrities? Maybe. I think the way different celebrities live their lives is fascinating. Some thrive on the attention they get from the paparazzi, such as Lindsay Lohan, while others tend to shy away from Hollywood and live their lives like normal people such as Julia Roberts. With bloggers such as Perez, even the shyest of celebrities have their lives constantly followed and every single mistake that they make is pinpointed, circled with a big black marker and splattered all over the Internet for obsessors like me to gauk at. Some people think it is sad that I spend hours researching the lives of celebrities, but I think of it as preparation for what will hopefully be my career someday. I plan to go to law school, which I have planned since I was probably 4. I have also been tracking celebrities since not too far after that. I think that it only makes perfect sense to combine the two fields into one and make a living off of it. In Wallace's terms, sites such as perezhilton.com, popsugar.com and thesuperficial.com (in case anyone needed new sites to go to!), can be classifed as asynchronous discussion forums because after the post discussions you can simply reply to them so that everyone viewing the log can see how you feel about specific subject matters. This blog that we are on right now is such an example.
My other option is to enter the sporting world in a legal way. I have always been a huge athlete, and if I do not continue to play sports, I would love to continue in some way by remaining connected to sports. The Internet gives me the ability to track sporting news that may not necessarily be on television or in the newspaper on a daily basis. How else would I find out who is winning the Champions League in European Soccer? Ok so that's a little about my background, but now for a little more on why I am taking this class.....
I hate talking on the phone! Text messaging has been one of the greatest inventions in the past twenty years, I would say, but it also seems to be one of the worst. I for one, am on the "best" side of the argument. I simply hate talking on the phone. I always have and I always will. Even if I am making a dinner reservation or calling information, I for some reason get nervous and do not know what to say. So, naturally when I discovered text messaging, I caught on pretty quickly. I text constantly, not only because it is convenient and fast, but because it helps to keep me from talking on the phone! Am I lazy? Probably. But I also just think that texting is so much more convenient than talking on the phone because you can do it anytime, even if you are in the middle of a movie. Because the technology of social computing that we use today is so advanced and somewhat impersonal, there are plenty of reasons that people find text messaging aloof. Breaking up with someone should NOT be done by a text message! Are we getting to the point where even typing away on the Internet is becoming obsolete? Because I completely see and understand why we are now entering the age of the Blackberry. My family constantly yells at my father for being on is Blackberry to do work all the time, but then I actually thought about what we were doing. My sister is always on her Blackberry, texting friends, getting Facebook emails, and checking her GMail. I am constantly text messaging as well, so we are really asking my dad to stop doing exactly what we are doing, which makes absolutely no sense. I guess being a hypocrit does not really matter because the Internet is "our generation's" and no one else can have it. Are we possessive over the people who only recently discovered the Internet? I know I get angry when my mom asks me how to use a search engine!
I openly admit to being addicted to perezhilton.com as well as every other trashy gossip website that exists. I check perez at least 20 times a day, no joke. Is it that I am just obsessed with understanding the lives of celebrities? Maybe. I think the way different celebrities live their lives is fascinating. Some thrive on the attention they get from the paparazzi, such as Lindsay Lohan, while others tend to shy away from Hollywood and live their lives like normal people such as Julia Roberts. With bloggers such as Perez, even the shyest of celebrities have their lives constantly followed and every single mistake that they make is pinpointed, circled with a big black marker and splattered all over the Internet for obsessors like me to gauk at. Some people think it is sad that I spend hours researching the lives of celebrities, but I think of it as preparation for what will hopefully be my career someday. I plan to go to law school, which I have planned since I was probably 4. I have also been tracking celebrities since not too far after that. I think that it only makes perfect sense to combine the two fields into one and make a living off of it. In Wallace's terms, sites such as perezhilton.com, popsugar.com and thesuperficial.com (in case anyone needed new sites to go to!), can be classifed as asynchronous discussion forums because after the post discussions you can simply reply to them so that everyone viewing the log can see how you feel about specific subject matters. This blog that we are on right now is such an example.
My other option is to enter the sporting world in a legal way. I have always been a huge athlete, and if I do not continue to play sports, I would love to continue in some way by remaining connected to sports. The Internet gives me the ability to track sporting news that may not necessarily be on television or in the newspaper on a daily basis. How else would I find out who is winning the Champions League in European Soccer? Ok so that's a little about my background, but now for a little more on why I am taking this class.....
I hate talking on the phone! Text messaging has been one of the greatest inventions in the past twenty years, I would say, but it also seems to be one of the worst. I for one, am on the "best" side of the argument. I simply hate talking on the phone. I always have and I always will. Even if I am making a dinner reservation or calling information, I for some reason get nervous and do not know what to say. So, naturally when I discovered text messaging, I caught on pretty quickly. I text constantly, not only because it is convenient and fast, but because it helps to keep me from talking on the phone! Am I lazy? Probably. But I also just think that texting is so much more convenient than talking on the phone because you can do it anytime, even if you are in the middle of a movie. Because the technology of social computing that we use today is so advanced and somewhat impersonal, there are plenty of reasons that people find text messaging aloof. Breaking up with someone should NOT be done by a text message! Are we getting to the point where even typing away on the Internet is becoming obsolete? Because I completely see and understand why we are now entering the age of the Blackberry. My family constantly yells at my father for being on is Blackberry to do work all the time, but then I actually thought about what we were doing. My sister is always on her Blackberry, texting friends, getting Facebook emails, and checking her GMail. I am constantly text messaging as well, so we are really asking my dad to stop doing exactly what we are doing, which makes absolutely no sense. I guess being a hypocrit does not really matter because the Internet is "our generation's" and no one else can have it. Are we possessive over the people who only recently discovered the Internet? I know I get angry when my mom asks me how to use a search engine!
The Blog Obsession
Hi everybody! :-)
I'm Alison Wollenberg, a junior Communication major and Aem minor. I do a lot around campus and usually find myself overextending my time and thinking I shouldn't have signed up for "just this one last thing to squeeze into my schedule.." I am the new chair of marketing for Hillel, I'm social and marshall for my sorority, I'm an AEM ambassador and a Communication peer Advisor. I'm looking into getting a job on campus, although I have no time, and I have just become a TA for another Comm class. I feel there is more that I can't think of right now...but that already seems like a lot as it is, lol. I like to be enthusiastic about everything I do and you will notice I use emoticons and ! marks wayyyy to much. I have been interested in marketing for a long time but now have developed an interest in product positioning and brand management. However, I love being involved with Cornell's communication and aem department, because I am really passionate about how the media influences people, the psychology of persuasion, how leaders can become so powerful and influential etc. My number one interest is with children and how the media affects them/influences their personality growth. Luckily, many courses in these departments have courses relating to this. Yay Cornell! :-)
Anyways, I have always been fascinated by Blogs themselves and how much people love reading them.I myself don't really read blogs (although I know Prof. Hancock says everyone does without meaning to), unlike many of my friends who are addicted to PerezHilton.com. I think the reason I don't read these things is because I know I'll be addicted to them instantly; I'll spend hours reading up on every post and becoming absorbed in someones life. Obviously, as can be seen by the popularity of blogs, many people are prone to this same behavior. I find it interesting how someone may stumble across someone's blog and without having any prior knowledge of the person, can suddenly be absorbed in their world and continually come back to read up on recent news. For example, I've never really been into the MySpace scene, but the few times I have read people's pages, I've found myself looking through their friends. Suddenly, "bikrdudets" friend's friend's friend, "lcrossplyr" has taken my interest. And just because his page has awesome music and he has some of the same interests as me I'll be reading every single post from the last year. "OMG! HE CHILLED AT DUNKIN DONUTS 2 WEEKS AGO!! NO WAY!!! II LLOOOVEEE DUNKIN DONUTS!!" Just reading this class blog was fun and I soaked in every bit of information about you guys, wanting to make small comments here and there about your daily lives that you mentioned.
So yea, I talk a lot and ramble a lot and often make my points not very lucid. So to summarize, I feel like a lot of people like reading up on other people's lives, and I have no idea why. You may not know them, and they may have quite a boring life, yet if they describe it in a humorous way and use witty remarks, I'll want to be reading up on every minute of their life. This also is true for sites like PostSecret.com. I love reading people's emo-esque mysterious messages, and wondering what that person is doing right now or if they really are that depressed. Wallace mentioned that the internet is a time sink, and there may be links to increased loneliness and depression. Do people's blogs perhaps make people feel more lonely? Does it cause people to think, 'wow this person's life is so much more exciting than mine" and thus try to live vicariously through them? Does it influence them to try to have a more exciting life since that appears to be the norm? Why DO these people continuously go back and read up about people they don't know, or need to know what that B-list celebrity did this weekend!?
I think a few of Wallace's online spaces can be used to define blogs. They are certainly under "world wide web" because they are a self-publishing device and people can bookmark sites. However, blogs can also be described as asynchronous discussion forums, since some blogs can have many different people responding to one another. Wallace mentioned how discussions on single topics can go on for days or weeks, and it reminded me of a blog I once read where two people were having an indepth conversation with each other in the comments section of a blog. Facebook wasn't around in 1999, but I think Wallace would definitely have mentioned it today. Especially since people love reading other people's profiles and walls, even though they don't even know them. So hopefully throughout this class we will learn what it is that compels people to read blogs feel a desire to learn about the mundane lives of strangers. And on that note, I am off to read Postsecret.com because now I'm craving to read about some stranger's secrets. Ciao!
I'm Alison Wollenberg, a junior Communication major and Aem minor. I do a lot around campus and usually find myself overextending my time and thinking I shouldn't have signed up for "just this one last thing to squeeze into my schedule.." I am the new chair of marketing for Hillel, I'm social and marshall for my sorority, I'm an AEM ambassador and a Communication peer Advisor. I'm looking into getting a job on campus, although I have no time, and I have just become a TA for another Comm class. I feel there is more that I can't think of right now...but that already seems like a lot as it is, lol. I like to be enthusiastic about everything I do and you will notice I use emoticons and ! marks wayyyy to much. I have been interested in marketing for a long time but now have developed an interest in product positioning and brand management. However, I love being involved with Cornell's communication and aem department, because I am really passionate about how the media influences people, the psychology of persuasion, how leaders can become so powerful and influential etc. My number one interest is with children and how the media affects them/influences their personality growth. Luckily, many courses in these departments have courses relating to this. Yay Cornell! :-)
Anyways, I have always been fascinated by Blogs themselves and how much people love reading them.I myself don't really read blogs (although I know Prof. Hancock says everyone does without meaning to), unlike many of my friends who are addicted to PerezHilton.com. I think the reason I don't read these things is because I know I'll be addicted to them instantly; I'll spend hours reading up on every post and becoming absorbed in someones life. Obviously, as can be seen by the popularity of blogs, many people are prone to this same behavior. I find it interesting how someone may stumble across someone's blog and without having any prior knowledge of the person, can suddenly be absorbed in their world and continually come back to read up on recent news. For example, I've never really been into the MySpace scene, but the few times I have read people's pages, I've found myself looking through their friends. Suddenly, "bikrdudets" friend's friend's friend, "lcrossplyr" has taken my interest. And just because his page has awesome music and he has some of the same interests as me I'll be reading every single post from the last year. "OMG! HE CHILLED AT DUNKIN DONUTS 2 WEEKS AGO!! NO WAY!!! II LLOOOVEEE DUNKIN DONUTS!!" Just reading this class blog was fun and I soaked in every bit of information about you guys, wanting to make small comments here and there about your daily lives that you mentioned.
So yea, I talk a lot and ramble a lot and often make my points not very lucid. So to summarize, I feel like a lot of people like reading up on other people's lives, and I have no idea why. You may not know them, and they may have quite a boring life, yet if they describe it in a humorous way and use witty remarks, I'll want to be reading up on every minute of their life. This also is true for sites like PostSecret.com. I love reading people's emo-esque mysterious messages, and wondering what that person is doing right now or if they really are that depressed. Wallace mentioned that the internet is a time sink, and there may be links to increased loneliness and depression. Do people's blogs perhaps make people feel more lonely? Does it cause people to think, 'wow this person's life is so much more exciting than mine" and thus try to live vicariously through them? Does it influence them to try to have a more exciting life since that appears to be the norm? Why DO these people continuously go back and read up about people they don't know, or need to know what that B-list celebrity did this weekend!?
I think a few of Wallace's online spaces can be used to define blogs. They are certainly under "world wide web" because they are a self-publishing device and people can bookmark sites. However, blogs can also be described as asynchronous discussion forums, since some blogs can have many different people responding to one another. Wallace mentioned how discussions on single topics can go on for days or weeks, and it reminded me of a blog I once read where two people were having an indepth conversation with each other in the comments section of a blog. Facebook wasn't around in 1999, but I think Wallace would definitely have mentioned it today. Especially since people love reading other people's profiles and walls, even though they don't even know them. So hopefully throughout this class we will learn what it is that compels people to read blogs feel a desire to learn about the mundane lives of strangers. And on that note, I am off to read Postsecret.com because now I'm craving to read about some stranger's secrets. Ciao!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Hi everyone!
Hi! My name is Randi Pochtar and I am a junior in the
Her article on self-injury and adolescents as related to Internet-use depicts the impact of message boards on adolescents with self-injurious behavior (http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/dev423407.pdf). The article found that the discussion boards, described by Wallace as asynchronous communication, were firstly a means of support and community for a group of adolescents who otherwise often feel misunderstood. However, the message boards also came to be a means of normalizing self-injury as well as introducing it to adolescents just exploring their identity. I think that it is important to think about, not only how the Internet is impacting adults, but also children and adolescents who are not even yet sure who they are. Adolescents, in trying to develop an identity, will explore their different options by means of clothing, friends, music, and activities. The Internet gives them the ability to be anyone and explore these different identities while maintaining anonymity, but what will be the result?
Those adolescents that have difficulty socializing in school may find it extremely easy to go on the Internet and talk to a stranger, and although this provides social interaction, it may also make the situation worse. Does the Internet space change the way that adolescents explore different areas of their identity since they are not actually socializing in person, but experiencing everything almost second-handedly? Reading other peoples’ blogs about hair-dying and actually dying your hair green are two very different things. I wonder if this could impact the way that adolescents today are realizing their identity. While the Internet certainly allows for easier exploration of different religious, political, and social values, it may also impede their individual growth or introduce them to more dangerous activities they otherwise would not have encountered. I am very interested in learning more about how the Internet space could impact adolescent development as we have learned it thus far.
Hello, my name is...
Hi, I'm Talia (Wissner-Levy). I'm a third year student here majoring in Natural Resources. I don't like to use the term junior or senior because it implies that I know when I will be graduating, which as of this week has changed several times. I consider both Great Neck, Long Island and Israel to be my home for reasons that are too taxing to explain here. I've worked in a lab here, am part of a sorority, teach and babysit kids over the weekend, and currently I am working on research dealing with fish and how they absorb mercury and other scary chemicals into their system.
I'm taking this course because I loved psychology while taking it in high school. Human behavior continues to perplex me and lately, I'm especially shocked on our dependance on the internet for everything. As Brianne previously said, our generation grew as the internet grew so it's hard to access how people's behaviors changed before and after the explosion of the internet since most changes can be attributed to just growing up and entering new stages of life. However, I do wonder if the internet makes us braver, lazier, dependant, reclusive, more contemplative or anything in the long term. I also used to dabble in chatrooms on AOL (the same kind Wallace describes) or 'synchronous chats' as a middle schooler when I first discovered the internet and was fascinated at the fact that an entirely different identity than the one in "real-life" can be created, and most people in my experience believed that the personality I conveyed in the chatroom was true to my real life self.
Going to chatrooms was like spying in on conversations I'd always wanted to hear. For example, I went to chatrooms of subject matter where I knew would meet people with completely opposing views than mine. I went to chatrooms that indicated people on the opposite side of the political spectrum would join. Sometimes I would be a fly on the wall and just scroll and read what these people had to say and try to make sense of their logic. Usually it strenthened my personal opinions because I took the chatters to be representive of all people of their political leanings. If the people in the chatrooms seemed misguided, or dumb, it further solidified my opinion that I was right. Sometimes I would be argumentative because I was convinced that just by my supreme convincing power, I could change these total strangers' opinion forever. However, I don't think my ideals and opinions have been changed by a chatter and I don't think I've convinced anyone in turn that they were wrong and I was right. As Wallace pointed out, I probably wouldn't have ever confronted these people in real life or used the sharp, caustic tone I did, but anonymity gives great power and chatrooms to me give misleading impressions yet real insights into who we are and who we might be talking to.
I haven't been to a chatroom since the seventh grade but it still is amazing the motivations behind people that regularly go into chatrooms. Do they seek solace in other people's company? Value a random person's opinion? Wish to convey a personality that they wish they had in real-life? Or maybe, as I did, wish to understand those different from themselves.
I'm taking this course because I loved psychology while taking it in high school. Human behavior continues to perplex me and lately, I'm especially shocked on our dependance on the internet for everything. As Brianne previously said, our generation grew as the internet grew so it's hard to access how people's behaviors changed before and after the explosion of the internet since most changes can be attributed to just growing up and entering new stages of life. However, I do wonder if the internet makes us braver, lazier, dependant, reclusive, more contemplative or anything in the long term. I also used to dabble in chatrooms on AOL (the same kind Wallace describes) or 'synchronous chats' as a middle schooler when I first discovered the internet and was fascinated at the fact that an entirely different identity than the one in "real-life" can be created, and most people in my experience believed that the personality I conveyed in the chatroom was true to my real life self.
Going to chatrooms was like spying in on conversations I'd always wanted to hear. For example, I went to chatrooms of subject matter where I knew would meet people with completely opposing views than mine. I went to chatrooms that indicated people on the opposite side of the political spectrum would join. Sometimes I would be a fly on the wall and just scroll and read what these people had to say and try to make sense of their logic. Usually it strenthened my personal opinions because I took the chatters to be representive of all people of their political leanings. If the people in the chatrooms seemed misguided, or dumb, it further solidified my opinion that I was right. Sometimes I would be argumentative because I was convinced that just by my supreme convincing power, I could change these total strangers' opinion forever. However, I don't think my ideals and opinions have been changed by a chatter and I don't think I've convinced anyone in turn that they were wrong and I was right. As Wallace pointed out, I probably wouldn't have ever confronted these people in real life or used the sharp, caustic tone I did, but anonymity gives great power and chatrooms to me give misleading impressions yet real insights into who we are and who we might be talking to.
I haven't been to a chatroom since the seventh grade but it still is amazing the motivations behind people that regularly go into chatrooms. Do they seek solace in other people's company? Value a random person's opinion? Wish to convey a personality that they wish they had in real-life? Or maybe, as I did, wish to understand those different from themselves.
Greetings, Comrades.
Hey, everyone. I'm Brianne...a lactose intolerant Libra who enjoys reading for pleasure and deep conversation. But seriously, folks, I'm a sophomore soon-to-be Comm major with intentions of adding on a minor in Marketing. Extracurricularly, I'm a Delta Gamma and a big advocate of Greek life on campus. I'm originally from Georgia; I grew up in an isolated small city of about 100,000 called Albany, and my family currently lives in Atlanta. I'm very proud of my Southern heritage, but I absolutely despise people who assume that all Southerners are hicks and/or bigots. I assure you, while there are certainly areas of the region that could use improvement in those respects, the majority of Southerners are just like the majority of the people in the rest of the country.
I started paying attention to the internet in fourth or fifth grade...I guess around 1998? I used to browse around it on the afternoons that my mom would take me to work with her after she picked me up from school. I don't think my family had an internet connection in our house until the summer of 1999.
I think it's fair to say that our generation grew up simultaneously with the internet. The features of the net that are commonly considered to be the most offensive are easily avoidable. For instance, I get very little junk mail because whenever I sign up for a service (facebook, blogspot, etc) I am very careful to uncheck the options that say things like "YES! I would like for cosmo.com to send me monthly updates!" However, for some reason, I absolutely cannot stand the animated advertisement banners one would find on sites like Myspace that make claims such as "Shoot a moving target and win a Wii!" or "Which celebrity is this: A) Paris Hilton, B) Lindsay Lohan, or C) Axl Rose? Win a free Coach purse!"
These banners get under my skin for several reasons. First, with the invention of the pop-up blocker, advertisers missed an opportunity to redeem themselves by finding a way to get my attention without giving me a migraine from the movement and flashing colors. Secondly, it's a way to sell information to anyone who might want to purchase it. (I don't know if any of you have actually clicked one of these things, but it turns out that once you achieve whatever insulting task the banner asks of you, you have to type in a bunch of people's e-mail addresses and convince them to sign up for the promotion as well).
Based on what I've read thus far, I'm not sure that Wallace could have forseen the new advertising techniques that have resulted from the internet. She mentions no environment that is completely relevant to flashy, animated banners. She does, however, briefly talk about free e-mail accounts that are paid for by the advertisements we are forced to see on the page. Like free e-mail sites, Myspace, Facebook, and any other number of websites (not just ones used for social networking) are paid for by these ads. So rather than a new environment, I think these ads would be contained as a sub-environment of any type of free website environment.
Okay, thanks for reading!
I started paying attention to the internet in fourth or fifth grade...I guess around 1998? I used to browse around it on the afternoons that my mom would take me to work with her after she picked me up from school. I don't think my family had an internet connection in our house until the summer of 1999.
I think it's fair to say that our generation grew up simultaneously with the internet. The features of the net that are commonly considered to be the most offensive are easily avoidable. For instance, I get very little junk mail because whenever I sign up for a service (facebook, blogspot, etc) I am very careful to uncheck the options that say things like "YES! I would like for cosmo.com to send me monthly updates!" However, for some reason, I absolutely cannot stand the animated advertisement banners one would find on sites like Myspace that make claims such as "Shoot a moving target and win a Wii!" or "Which celebrity is this: A) Paris Hilton, B) Lindsay Lohan, or C) Axl Rose? Win a free Coach purse!"
These banners get under my skin for several reasons. First, with the invention of the pop-up blocker, advertisers missed an opportunity to redeem themselves by finding a way to get my attention without giving me a migraine from the movement and flashing colors. Secondly, it's a way to sell information to anyone who might want to purchase it. (I don't know if any of you have actually clicked one of these things, but it turns out that once you achieve whatever insulting task the banner asks of you, you have to type in a bunch of people's e-mail addresses and convince them to sign up for the promotion as well).
Based on what I've read thus far, I'm not sure that Wallace could have forseen the new advertising techniques that have resulted from the internet. She mentions no environment that is completely relevant to flashy, animated banners. She does, however, briefly talk about free e-mail accounts that are paid for by the advertisements we are forced to see on the page. Like free e-mail sites, Myspace, Facebook, and any other number of websites (not just ones used for social networking) are paid for by these ads. So rather than a new environment, I think these ads would be contained as a sub-environment of any type of free website environment.
Okay, thanks for reading!
Online Altruists Saved Me $800 Today
I just read the assigned chapters, and Wallace gave me some pretty important advice. See if you can pick it out: FWIW, I'm a 20-year-old male from Portland, Oregon. My friends call me Ken :-) (Bonus points if you noticed I didn't cross-post this to Rush Limbaugh's website.) I almost can't believe we're reading a book about the Internet that was published circa the tail end of of the dot-com bubble--ancient Internet history in many ways--but a good deal of Wallace rang true anyway.
One of the reasons I joined this class is that the Internet is a fundamental part of my decision-making process. If I need more information on a general subject, I will immediately Google or Wikipedia it. If I'm trying to make a purchase, I'll look up and compare prices. If I need to communicate with someone, I'll probably send an e-mail, or, if you're part of my generation, I'll send you a facebook message. And if you send me a $1600 travel voucher in the mail, I will look you up while I call your toll-free number.
That happened today--I called Ramada Plaza Resorts back while Googling their name. Voila--while "Paulie, confirmation number pl4507" explained how much fun I would have on my virtually-free South Florida vacation, http://www.ripoffreport.com/ was screaming horror stories about how Paulie would soon ask for an extra $798 that he would never refund (he did ask, about ten minutes in), while sending "ya married? got a girlfriend?" and I to a grimy motel in the seedy underbelly of Ft Lauderdale. Thanks to RipoffReport, and in a way the Internet at large, I got to spend the rest of the phone call coming down with a hacking cough and testing out my Kermit the Frog impression ("can you speak to my uncle?" "does your vacation cruise harm the manatee?" "I promise I'll sign up if you listen to my song about rainbows!").
The point is that I didn't pay a penny to read that report. And while RipoffReport clearly sells advertisements, the brunt of its argument was actually its Comments section, which was written by angry consumers who had fallen for RPR's trap. In much the same way that anyone can edit Wikipedia without any sort of financial incentive, a bunch of strangers had dispensed with a little of their time and energy to save me from a Kermit-free phone call, with no cash involved.
Obviously they have their incentives--for Wikipedians, a little respect, a feeling of making the world a better place, and for RipoffReporters, some revenge, along with the same feeling--but they don't make any money, which is more important than it sounds. I find it fascinating that so many of my decisions and so much of my day-to-day life is managed by strangers who I trust for the very reason that I read their opinions for free.
And BTW: most of what I'm discussing falls into the category of asynchronous discussion forums (free-information-from-strangers). Wikipedia is a little more than that, but for my purposes I think the shoe fits.
One of the reasons I joined this class is that the Internet is a fundamental part of my decision-making process. If I need more information on a general subject, I will immediately Google or Wikipedia it. If I'm trying to make a purchase, I'll look up and compare prices. If I need to communicate with someone, I'll probably send an e-mail, or, if you're part of my generation, I'll send you a facebook message. And if you send me a $1600 travel voucher in the mail, I will look you up while I call your toll-free number.
That happened today--I called Ramada Plaza Resorts back while Googling their name. Voila--while "Paulie, confirmation number pl4507" explained how much fun I would have on my virtually-free South Florida vacation, http://www.ripoffreport.com/ was screaming horror stories about how Paulie would soon ask for an extra $798 that he would never refund (he did ask, about ten minutes in), while sending "ya married? got a girlfriend?" and I to a grimy motel in the seedy underbelly of Ft Lauderdale. Thanks to RipoffReport, and in a way the Internet at large, I got to spend the rest of the phone call coming down with a hacking cough and testing out my Kermit the Frog impression ("can you speak to my uncle?" "does your vacation cruise harm the manatee?" "I promise I'll sign up if you listen to my song about rainbows!").
The point is that I didn't pay a penny to read that report. And while RipoffReport clearly sells advertisements, the brunt of its argument was actually its Comments section, which was written by angry consumers who had fallen for RPR's trap. In much the same way that anyone can edit Wikipedia without any sort of financial incentive, a bunch of strangers had dispensed with a little of their time and energy to save me from a Kermit-free phone call, with no cash involved.
Obviously they have their incentives--for Wikipedians, a little respect, a feeling of making the world a better place, and for RipoffReporters, some revenge, along with the same feeling--but they don't make any money, which is more important than it sounds. I find it fascinating that so many of my decisions and so much of my day-to-day life is managed by strangers who I trust for the very reason that I read their opinions for free.
And BTW: most of what I'm discussing falls into the category of asynchronous discussion forums (free-information-from-strangers). Wikipedia is a little more than that, but for my purposes I think the shoe fits.
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