The virtual community which I decided to join is called “The Music Community,” complete with thousands of threads of communication. One of my main interests and hobbies is music, and I could not live without it in my life. Ever since I was little, I was interested in playing and performing music. My favorite band is The Beatles, and I tend to enjoy a wide variety of flavors of music. It’s a free country, right? I take pride in my music collection, because it consists of everything from the jazz tunes I played in my high school band to the jammin’ classic rock songs that my boyfriend plays in his rock band. I found that there are forums on “The Music Community” are that range from ‘Member Journals’ to ‘Album Reviews’ to ‘Songwriting’ to ‘Name That Tune.’ The forums are pretty diverse, and if you have any interest in music, I think that it would be effortless to find a forum to suit your style. I fit into “The Music Community” by discussing aspects of music which satisfy my particular interests. For example, I used to play the alto saxophone. My niche in the realm of music deals with playing instruments, so I discussed my experiences with learning how to play my saxophone with a young saxophonist who has just started playing the alto. I also reminisced about high school football game halftime shows with a few likeminded individuals who played instruments in the marching band in high school.
The internet is a place that allows all types of netizens to guide themselves to the exact virtual community which suits them best. Wood and Smith talk about how people relate to each other in these communities in chapter 6, and they say that “For those who chose to involve themselves in the lives of others through mediating technologies rather than in face-to-face encounters, the virtual communities they inhabit represent a widespread movement into a manner of relating that defies the limitations of physical space.” This statement is powerful, and it shows that we have the ability to interact online how we want to, when we want to, and through the means that we want to.
Social interaction is a bit different inside a virtual community as compared to a real-life one. Acceptance is an easier task when it is sought through the medium of an internet community, especially for those who lack in the social department. I think that a person who is better accustomed to netiquette has an advantage of being accepted in a virtual community as opposed to the type of person who rarely communicates using these means. The internet gives users the ability to both present whatever part of themselves as they wish, and also hide their bad qualities which may hinder their degree of social acceptance. There is no way of completely knowing that you’re accepted in a virtual community because sometimes the communication does not become personal. Often in face-to-face communication, we rely on nonverbal signs that tell us we’re liked or accepted. Being online takes these signals away, and we are forced to translate user responses into things such as what type of mood they’re in, the degree to which you are alike or dissimilar, and what their emotional response is telling you about how well you are being accepted by them. To decide whether or not I was being accepted by somebody on “The Music Community,” I just ask myself if there’s any reason I can think of why they would not like me. Even if I received positive feedback from a person, I can’t assume that they accept me because of the fact that online communities employ mediated communication.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Snail Mail vs. E-mail
When I first read about this assignment, I thought it would be so difficult to sit down and write a letter by long-hand! But to my surprise, it was easy, because I found myself reminiscing of old childhood times. I decided to handwrite and send a letter through snail mail to my longtime friend named Krystal. I haven’t seen her in so long, because she moved to Arizona a few years ago. In the past, when we were kids, she has sent me friendly letters through snail mail, as communicating through these means used to be a common hobby of ours. I’m glad that this assignment was given to me, because I haven’t handwritten Krystal in forever! The age of the internet had taken over our mode of communication. Nowadays, we have formed the habit of mostly sharing our lives with each other through photobucket.com , a site that offers free photo and video sharing. Sadly, I have not yet received back a response from Arizona.
I chose to type the other letter through e-mail to my mother. This was planned out to be the faster mode of communication because I talk to her almost every day. Her occupation is a network administrator, so I am almost completely sure that she would receive the message promptly. This is one reason why I decided to send her the e-mail. She checks her mail many times during the day because her entire job depends on it, so keeping Microsoft Outlook open all day long is more effective than continuously opening and closing the program. I received a message back from my mom through e-mail within 2 hours!
My hand-written letter was undeniably longer than the e-mail. I used more get-to-know-you type language such as “How are you doing?” and “I’ve been doing OK.” I did this because I haven’t talked to my friend Krystal for a long time. I had to set up a good friend-to-friend chat before expressing the dialogue for my appreciation of Krystal for influencing my life. In contrast, the e-mail I sent my mom was relatively short and sweet. Since I saw her the day before I typed the letter, I asked her shortly in the beginning of the letter how her day had been, and quickly transitioned into thanking her for everything she has taught me. It sounded like a personalized greeting card from me to her which I should have given to her on Mother’s Day. The language I used with my mom did not flow as freely, and in some places I used phrases instead of full sentences. My hand-written letter was more well-thought out, and it was definitely more well-rounded as well. I also used complete sentences. I didn’t even use a cordial greeting or closing on the e-mail to my mom. I opened the letter with “Hey mom!” and closed it with my name and an emoticon-type of symbol “<3<3<3<3<3 Ashley <3<3<3<3<3.” The reply which I received back from my mom was also short, as it basically only expressed that she was happy with having me as a daughter, and that I should come visit her sometime soon. It did not really tell me anything that I didn’t know already.
On pg 93 in Wood & Smith, they say that “for some people, over-reliance on online interaction can have detrimental effects, little different than if one were suffering from any other behavioral disorder.” I think that over-reliance on anything can and probably will have detrimental effects. I think that the transition from using snail mail to using e-mail has come with its own set of disadvantageous consequences, such as using a different tone in the communication. This assignment in particular brought this to my attention. Although rare users of the internet probably write e-mails that are more similar to snail mail letters than I do, I think those users that are more dependent on the internet for their jobs are more likely to change their tone, length, and quality in an online message than the rare users.
I chose to type the other letter through e-mail to my mother. This was planned out to be the faster mode of communication because I talk to her almost every day. Her occupation is a network administrator, so I am almost completely sure that she would receive the message promptly. This is one reason why I decided to send her the e-mail. She checks her mail many times during the day because her entire job depends on it, so keeping Microsoft Outlook open all day long is more effective than continuously opening and closing the program. I received a message back from my mom through e-mail within 2 hours!
My hand-written letter was undeniably longer than the e-mail. I used more get-to-know-you type language such as “How are you doing?” and “I’ve been doing OK.” I did this because I haven’t talked to my friend Krystal for a long time. I had to set up a good friend-to-friend chat before expressing the dialogue for my appreciation of Krystal for influencing my life. In contrast, the e-mail I sent my mom was relatively short and sweet. Since I saw her the day before I typed the letter, I asked her shortly in the beginning of the letter how her day had been, and quickly transitioned into thanking her for everything she has taught me. It sounded like a personalized greeting card from me to her which I should have given to her on Mother’s Day. The language I used with my mom did not flow as freely, and in some places I used phrases instead of full sentences. My hand-written letter was more well-thought out, and it was definitely more well-rounded as well. I also used complete sentences. I didn’t even use a cordial greeting or closing on the e-mail to my mom. I opened the letter with “Hey mom!” and closed it with my name and an emoticon-type of symbol “<3<3<3<3<3 Ashley <3<3<3<3<3.” The reply which I received back from my mom was also short, as it basically only expressed that she was happy with having me as a daughter, and that I should come visit her sometime soon. It did not really tell me anything that I didn’t know already.
On pg 93 in Wood & Smith, they say that “for some people, over-reliance on online interaction can have detrimental effects, little different than if one were suffering from any other behavioral disorder.” I think that over-reliance on anything can and probably will have detrimental effects. I think that the transition from using snail mail to using e-mail has come with its own set of disadvantageous consequences, such as using a different tone in the communication. This assignment in particular brought this to my attention. Although rare users of the internet probably write e-mails that are more similar to snail mail letters than I do, I think those users that are more dependent on the internet for their jobs are more likely to change their tone, length, and quality in an online message than the rare users.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Identity Creation: Facebook & Myspace
So, sometimes, Facebook rules my life. It gives me the opportunity to view pictures, read profiles, and for lack of a better word, “stalk” my friends. In reality, most of the time I don’t spend hours online surfing Facebook and Myspace, but I do believe that it permits me to engage in anonymous communication. Wood and Smith (p47) said that "computer-mediated communication contexts, like no other person-to-person media before them, offer communicators the ablity to manipulate their personal identities in ways that call into question assumptions aboutwhat is possible and what is appropriate in the presentation of the self." Inside internet communities such as Facebook and Myspace exists a huge potential for anonymity. People who I have never met out there in cyberspace are able to construct their own unique online identity, which could be completely phony for all I know. There are millions of people portraying false identities online. Along with having the freedom to create your own personal profile online comes identity fraud, cyberbullying, and solicitation, as well as a host of other negative connotations.
In a world where you are able to build your own reality, you must consider the audience of your onlookers. While there are many ways to distort your identity on Facebook, revealing too much about yourself is also a bad thing. For example, personal life is something that should not be represented in its entirety on Facebook. You should imagine the information you choose to publish on the site on the front page of the news before you post it, because that’s where it could end up. One time, I was involved in plan which turned out to be illegal, and park rangers from my local state forest questioned me, my friends, and family in an attempt to figure out the situation. But it was Myspace that cracked the case. The rangers checked out all of our Myspaces, and when I went in to their office for questioning, they showed me pictures they had printed off my site of the site of the crime. It was quite a painful realization, and I got burned, so I learned my lesson. Now, I don’t post any pictures of myself looking remotely under the influence of anything, and I consider the fact that my employer could be looking at all of my personal info. The number of connections that social networking sites allow is scary. My mom is on Facebook! Of course, I have blocked my profile from her.
I think that Facebook has become its own cyberculture. Soon, I expect the word Facebook to turn up in our dictionaries! This 8 –letter word is more than just a social networking site, it is a place in our minds that we travel to for significant purposes. But exactly how important is it to you to check your Facebook everyday? In the past, I’ve gotten fed up with Facebook enough to turn off my account. But after school let out and the lazy summer days began again, my self-control came tumbling down to the ground and I re-established my account. For some reason, I think sites like Facebook and Myspace are a result of a degree of unfulfillment in other aspects of one’s life. Most of the time, I cite my reasoning for being on Facebook as “I was bored.” Yes, I could have been spending my time elsewhere doing more productive activities, but instead I opted for going inside my own personal heavily self-influenced world of Facebook.
In a world where you are able to build your own reality, you must consider the audience of your onlookers. While there are many ways to distort your identity on Facebook, revealing too much about yourself is also a bad thing. For example, personal life is something that should not be represented in its entirety on Facebook. You should imagine the information you choose to publish on the site on the front page of the news before you post it, because that’s where it could end up. One time, I was involved in plan which turned out to be illegal, and park rangers from my local state forest questioned me, my friends, and family in an attempt to figure out the situation. But it was Myspace that cracked the case. The rangers checked out all of our Myspaces, and when I went in to their office for questioning, they showed me pictures they had printed off my site of the site of the crime. It was quite a painful realization, and I got burned, so I learned my lesson. Now, I don’t post any pictures of myself looking remotely under the influence of anything, and I consider the fact that my employer could be looking at all of my personal info. The number of connections that social networking sites allow is scary. My mom is on Facebook! Of course, I have blocked my profile from her.
I think that Facebook has become its own cyberculture. Soon, I expect the word Facebook to turn up in our dictionaries! This 8 –letter word is more than just a social networking site, it is a place in our minds that we travel to for significant purposes. But exactly how important is it to you to check your Facebook everyday? In the past, I’ve gotten fed up with Facebook enough to turn off my account. But after school let out and the lazy summer days began again, my self-control came tumbling down to the ground and I re-established my account. For some reason, I think sites like Facebook and Myspace are a result of a degree of unfulfillment in other aspects of one’s life. Most of the time, I cite my reasoning for being on Facebook as “I was bored.” Yes, I could have been spending my time elsewhere doing more productive activities, but instead I opted for going inside my own personal heavily self-influenced world of Facebook.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Brad Paisley's "Online" Music Video
The song titled “Online” by Brad Paisley tells a short story about a geeky type of guy who seems to be obsessed with creating an alternate personality for himself, at least during the time he’s online. The music video begins when this overweight guy delivers a pizza to a house in which a rocking party is going on. He drives a piece-of-shit car, still lives with his parents, and is a Sci-Fi fanatic. Obviously, this guy is the opposite of eye candy. He is the type of person who got picked on in high school for being a band geek, and who has social troubles. In other words, his life is lacking in the “cool” department. The song then transitions to his life online. This section of his life turns out to be ironically and dramatically different than the personality he presents most of the time. In contrast, when this guy signs online, he presents himself to the rest of the internet community as a tall, mysterious hunk who seems to attract females fairly easy. I think it’s funny because it is ironic that this geeky guy secretly wants to be the type of person who typically beats him up in real life.
The age of the internet has given us the ability to demonstrate multiple personalities, as seen in this video by the geeky guy. When he is online, his confident, superior, and “cooler” personality takes over, while he continues to spend his time alone in his basement, dreaming of the perks of being a ladies’ man. Nevertheless, he still lives with his parents as a middle-aged man, holds a minimum-wage job, and is nowhere near getting a girl to date him. Real-world situations like this one have occurred zillions of times. When given access to the internet, a person could become whatever type of person they desire to be. This opens up many opportunities for criminals and masterminds. Crime, drama, and predation of young, unsuspecting victims is encountered by internet investigators every day.
So why do so many people like to create inaccurate portrayals of themselves online? I think it happens because of the convenience and ease provided by this mediated form of communication. Computer technology, particularly the internet, has given anyone with a connection the capacity to lie, cheat, or act dishonestly. I have even found myself doing it. For example, if I had a 10 – page paper due tomorrow morning, (and of course, I haven’t started it yet) I would have a few underlying instincts to phony e-mail the teacher to say that my grandma was in critical condition in the hospital. The logic in doing this would be to buy myself some more time to work on the paper. I don’t think that I would have the guts to actually call my professor to inform him/her about my bogus grandma incident, because there is something about e-mail messages that makes one-on-one communication easier to carry out. There is something that detaches us from the physical world when we are able to use mediated means. Values such as honesty, sincerity, tenderness, and trust are harder to come by these days. Postman cites in chapters 2 and 3 that part of culture is lost as society moves from tool-centered customs to technocracy until finally, a technopoly has replaced old traditions which are rendered “old technology.” New, current technology has the greatest precedence over anything else, as speed, convenience are currently the most desired things. I believe that this causes more problems than solutions in the worldly picture, as integrity lacks in many people in modern society.
The age of the internet has given us the ability to demonstrate multiple personalities, as seen in this video by the geeky guy. When he is online, his confident, superior, and “cooler” personality takes over, while he continues to spend his time alone in his basement, dreaming of the perks of being a ladies’ man. Nevertheless, he still lives with his parents as a middle-aged man, holds a minimum-wage job, and is nowhere near getting a girl to date him. Real-world situations like this one have occurred zillions of times. When given access to the internet, a person could become whatever type of person they desire to be. This opens up many opportunities for criminals and masterminds. Crime, drama, and predation of young, unsuspecting victims is encountered by internet investigators every day.
So why do so many people like to create inaccurate portrayals of themselves online? I think it happens because of the convenience and ease provided by this mediated form of communication. Computer technology, particularly the internet, has given anyone with a connection the capacity to lie, cheat, or act dishonestly. I have even found myself doing it. For example, if I had a 10 – page paper due tomorrow morning, (and of course, I haven’t started it yet) I would have a few underlying instincts to phony e-mail the teacher to say that my grandma was in critical condition in the hospital. The logic in doing this would be to buy myself some more time to work on the paper. I don’t think that I would have the guts to actually call my professor to inform him/her about my bogus grandma incident, because there is something about e-mail messages that makes one-on-one communication easier to carry out. There is something that detaches us from the physical world when we are able to use mediated means. Values such as honesty, sincerity, tenderness, and trust are harder to come by these days. Postman cites in chapters 2 and 3 that part of culture is lost as society moves from tool-centered customs to technocracy until finally, a technopoly has replaced old traditions which are rendered “old technology.” New, current technology has the greatest precedence over anything else, as speed, convenience are currently the most desired things. I believe that this causes more problems than solutions in the worldly picture, as integrity lacks in many people in modern society.
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