I came across a site that has live webcam viewing of many different things such as: parties, tricks, people's lives, dogs, etc. The site is called Ustream.tv but the most viewed one is about the lives of Shiba Inu Puppies. Here is the link Shiba Inu puppies live. I find this site cool because you can have a camera live and be at work, school, traveling, etc. and login onto this website from anywhere and see what's going on. If one were to have kids and wanted to leave them home and see what they are doing they can because there is a live camera on the web. This may be a bad idea for leaving the kids home alone, but it would be more ideal if it were an animal instead.
Recording a video from a webcam and having it live in the second world seems unbelievable to me. Both in second life and in the physical world you can see what is going on. This technology is new. A few years ago, there wasn't a site for a live viewing of whatever you want to post to show the entire world, or conveniently for yourself. It's amazing how technology has sped up so fast. Technology will only move forward and not backyards.
-Teresa Yu
Monday, February 16, 2009
"Facebook is for old people"
There is an article in the Feb.23, 2009 issue of Time magazine titled "Facebook is for old people" that provides 10 reasons why the author feels this is so. Lev Grossman starts off this article by saying that although Facebook is only five years old and although it started off as a social network for college students, it has "found it's fullest, richest expression with us, the middle-aged" (time, 2009). He then goes on to list the 10 reasons why facebook is for the oldies, here's an example:
#5: We're Lazy. We have jobs and children and houses and substance-abuse problems to deal with. At our age, we dont want to do anything. what we want is to hear about other people doing things and then judge them for it. which is what news feeds are for.
Anyhow, while i disagree with some of the reasons, i still found it to be a fun read. I also thought it might be useful for groups doing their projects on facebook.
#5: We're Lazy. We have jobs and children and houses and substance-abuse problems to deal with. At our age, we dont want to do anything. what we want is to hear about other people doing things and then judge them for it. which is what news feeds are for.
Anyhow, while i disagree with some of the reasons, i still found it to be a fun read. I also thought it might be useful for groups doing their projects on facebook.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Internet Celebrities
Weezer - "Pork and Beans"
If we really wanted to, we could upload our own videos onto YouTube and become Internet sensations. Many Average Joes (e.g. Tay Zonday, Chris Crocker) have caught onto the trend and scored deals to augment their actual-world celebrity statuses. For example, Tay Zonday has performed live on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, shot a commercial for Dr Pepper that aired during this year's Super Bowl, and participated in Weezer's "Pork and Beans" music video (see above link).
I am glad, though, that Weezer honored Internet celebrities on their music video. Internet celebs may not have made their way to the top of the film, TV, or music charts, but they at least prove that anyone can offer decent entertainment. Although I don't enjoy the majority of the content on YouTube, I do admire the celebs' courage for showcasing themselves when they were finally allowed to do so, especially on the Internet for a massive audience.
If we really wanted to, we could upload our own videos onto YouTube and become Internet sensations. Many Average Joes (e.g. Tay Zonday, Chris Crocker) have caught onto the trend and scored deals to augment their actual-world celebrity statuses. For example, Tay Zonday has performed live on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, shot a commercial for Dr Pepper that aired during this year's Super Bowl, and participated in Weezer's "Pork and Beans" music video (see above link).
I am glad, though, that Weezer honored Internet celebrities on their music video. Internet celebs may not have made their way to the top of the film, TV, or music charts, but they at least prove that anyone can offer decent entertainment. Although I don't enjoy the majority of the content on YouTube, I do admire the celebs' courage for showcasing themselves when they were finally allowed to do so, especially on the Internet for a massive audience.
FACEBOOK ADDICT!
i came across this article as it was a FEATURED article on yahoo....just the fact that facebook has become so big now that it is enough to be on the yahoo homepage says something about how much time we spend in the virtual world....facebook is a good way to really keep in touch with people so much to the point where it is that much easier to "post" on someone's wall rather than speak to them face to face.....but i think this article kind of proves how since some are addicted to facebook, it is just another way to say people love to socialize...it is just that facebook makes it FAR easier to socialize with a few clicks of a mouse and a few taps of the keyboard compared to the older generations of seeing people face to face and verbally keeping in touch with each other.......and btw i didn't qualify under ANY of the 10 elements of facebook addiction...SCORE!
Divorce through Youtube
I thought this article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/style/18divorce.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=technology was extremely interesting. A feud between a couple became public through youtube blogs during their divorce. At first the wife had created a blog where she would talk about her love for her husband until her husband called the marriage off and thats when things went into a different direction. The article also discusses podcasts that are posted by divorced women weekly. I think it is extremely interesting how the internet has become a mode of communication for people. People have strayed away from talking in person and on the phone and have turned to the internet to get advise or update their friends about things that are going on in their life.
A Clean Slate
"What a new Internet might look like is still widely debated, but one alternative would, in effect, create a “gated community” where users would give up their anonymity and certain freedoms in return for safety. Today that is already the case for many corporate and government Internet users. As a new and more secure network becomes widely adopted, the current Internet might end up as the bad neighborhood of cyberspace. You would enter at your own risk and keep an eye over your shoulder while you were there." -John Markoff, Do We Need a New Internet?, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2009
The drive for a new Internet and a move into an online "gated community" reminds me of the post-WWII "white flight" from the urban areas and the inflated perception of urban areas as wastelands. And later, the suburban areas started becoming more dangerous as the decades progressed, and the residents built sprawling ex-urban neighborhood (i.e. Irvine) in order to continue escaping the crime. However, because people continued to run away from their cities' problems, they haven't dealt with the crime directly, and the urban areas have been neglected because of it.
I know I'm generalizing with the above example, but I don't think a clean slate for the Internet will necessarily solve our problems of viruses and hackers. A "new Internet" would not completely eradicate our problems because the problems will continue ruining the "old Internet", and that would be a very irresponsible decision that affects users who would not be able to access the "new Internet". Also, more problems will be invented later, and the clean slate won't last forever (law of entropy).
I honestly believe that we are as safe in the virtual world as in the actual world (as in, absolute security is never guaranteed). And sometimes we just have to take problems as they come. I think we'll come out better by taking back the Internets.
The drive for a new Internet and a move into an online "gated community" reminds me of the post-WWII "white flight" from the urban areas and the inflated perception of urban areas as wastelands. And later, the suburban areas started becoming more dangerous as the decades progressed, and the residents built sprawling ex-urban neighborhood (i.e. Irvine) in order to continue escaping the crime. However, because people continued to run away from their cities' problems, they haven't dealt with the crime directly, and the urban areas have been neglected because of it.
I know I'm generalizing with the above example, but I don't think a clean slate for the Internet will necessarily solve our problems of viruses and hackers. A "new Internet" would not completely eradicate our problems because the problems will continue ruining the "old Internet", and that would be a very irresponsible decision that affects users who would not be able to access the "new Internet". Also, more problems will be invented later, and the clean slate won't last forever (law of entropy).
I honestly believe that we are as safe in the virtual world as in the actual world (as in, absolute security is never guaranteed). And sometimes we just have to take problems as they come. I think we'll come out better by taking back the Internets.
Response to "Digital Ethnography"
This blog post is in response to Brian Tan's "Digital Ethnography" post, particularly the video titled A Vision of Students Today.
Here is the original link to the Digital Ethnography web site.
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I multitask, and I know I'm not the only one. The virtual world imposes demands on us (WoW, blogs, e-mail, Facebook, etc.) that detract more of our time the more we become entrenched in it. At the same time, however, I can't simply leave the virtual world because my e-mail and Facebook demands are tied to the actual world. If I don't message a friend via Facebook on a class project, I procrastinate for the both of us. If I don't send a memo to my supervisor via e-mail, I am not being attentive or efficient. The actual and virtual worlds have become so demanding on their own terms as well as interdependent on each other that I almost need to have my laptop at all times so I don't fall behind on my tasks. I can survive without technology if I'm stranded in the wilderness, but I depend on it in college so much. Other people depend on my to utilize technology too.
The Internet is a vast sea of information that can supplement or replace the physical classroom. Is it bad that I am using the Internet for "distracting myself from my studies"? Well, no, I'd go nuts if all I did was study (I'm sure you would too). Then again, I use the Internet so much that I'm afraid I'm losing touch with the physical world sometimes. This may sound ugly, but I feel as if I surrender myself to the Internet. But this does sound too victimizing, and it throws a red alert b/c the Internet takes over me more than I take over it. If I acknowledge this, I will better understand that I have control over my computer and the Internet, and I will have more willpower to turn off the computer and get in touch with my physical self.
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Sorry if I bugged anyone with my excessive use of "I", but I can only speak on behalf of myself. If I spoke a bit on behalf of you, great!
Here is the original link to the Digital Ethnography web site.
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I multitask, and I know I'm not the only one. The virtual world imposes demands on us (WoW, blogs, e-mail, Facebook, etc.) that detract more of our time the more we become entrenched in it. At the same time, however, I can't simply leave the virtual world because my e-mail and Facebook demands are tied to the actual world. If I don't message a friend via Facebook on a class project, I procrastinate for the both of us. If I don't send a memo to my supervisor via e-mail, I am not being attentive or efficient. The actual and virtual worlds have become so demanding on their own terms as well as interdependent on each other that I almost need to have my laptop at all times so I don't fall behind on my tasks. I can survive without technology if I'm stranded in the wilderness, but I depend on it in college so much. Other people depend on my to utilize technology too.
The Internet is a vast sea of information that can supplement or replace the physical classroom. Is it bad that I am using the Internet for "distracting myself from my studies"? Well, no, I'd go nuts if all I did was study (I'm sure you would too). Then again, I use the Internet so much that I'm afraid I'm losing touch with the physical world sometimes. This may sound ugly, but I feel as if I surrender myself to the Internet. But this does sound too victimizing, and it throws a red alert b/c the Internet takes over me more than I take over it. If I acknowledge this, I will better understand that I have control over my computer and the Internet, and I will have more willpower to turn off the computer and get in touch with my physical self.
---
Sorry if I bugged anyone with my excessive use of "I", but I can only speak on behalf of myself. If I spoke a bit on behalf of you, great!
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