Digital Nation-the mob

      Constant connectedness coupled with anonymity can certainly lead to misbehavior and cruelty.  However while used with discretion it can also be beneficial.  Many believe that the anger exposed online is due to being able to be completely anonymous and that this anger is the reason for our society’s discourse.  I hold the belief that while anonymity can be the cause of much unrest on the internet, it is up to the individual to be responsible in an age where we are always connected, and that saying our society’s discourse is due to this new technological era is simply a way for people to place the blame on something other than themselves. 

      The unintended effects of our constant connectedness are that this generation is always expecting immediate results.  We could be in the middle of a city, nowhere near any reference sources or computers, but thanks to our phones and 3G connections, we can find the answer to practically anything at any time.  Our connectedness also leads to a lack of privacy, however I believe that is our own fault.  If we didn’t want people knowing what we were doing all the time, then we shouldn’t be updating all of our social networking sites.  The option of doing all things anonymous in addition to being constantly connected often times leads to misbehavior and cruelty.  From identity theft to internet bullying to invasion of privacy, the anonymity can turn many people off from using the internet, “According to most recent surveys, privacy and especially anonymity are the fundamental issues of concern for most Internet users, ranked higher than issues like ease-of-use, spam-mail, security and cost” (Gritzalis).

      On the other hand, I also believe people abuse the privileges we have been given by modern technology and end up involved in internet bullying, harassment, or general invasion of privacy.  Although this behavior is linked to our new obsessive connectedness, we as consumers should know better than to take advantage of such availabilities.  Anonymity plus connectivity can be beneficial instead of the negativity that seems to be coupled with it.  Being able to voice yourself without judgement of other is clearly one of the benefits, “People can express themselves without fear. That's the reason well-run democracies have secret ballots” (Dvorak)

      The collective anger that is unleashed online, I believe, is just a means of an outlet for people to vent.  For instance, if somebody were to be upset about something and they wanted to talk about it, but had nobody to talk to (whether nobody really cared, or they didn’t want others to know how they really felt), the internet is the perfect place to type out, or record your feelings.  This can be done so anonymously so that the user is able to express their thoughts completely candid without ever having to reveal their identity, and sometimes they can even form a connection with somebody who deals with a similar problem, “Chat rooms are full of people who hate their jobs, their spouses, their lifestyles—and openly discuss these feelings anonymously” (Dvorak).  As a result, other people who view this online are usually able to form some sort of response that could agree or disagree with the original poster.

      In terms of describing our society’s discourse, I would have to disagree and say that we are not discoursed in anyway.  We might be connected 24/7 and rely more on it than other generations, but has it really seemed to cause severe problems?  I don’t think so.  I believe that although there are some problems that stem from this new phenomenon, it has brought about more benefits that negativities.  Some might say that the anger unleashed online is a negative part of always being able to be on the internet, and being able to do so anonymously, but think about how different it would be if those angry people didn’t have internet.  Sure the internet allows them to broadcast their anger to the entire world, but without the internet they’d still be angry people.  It would just be a different medium in which they’d be portraying their anger.

Dvorak, John C. "Pros and Cons of Anonymity." PC Mag. ZiffDavis, 30 Dec. 2002. 

      Web. 30 Sept. 2010. <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/ 

     0,2817,801688,00.asp>.

Gritzalis, Stefanos. Privacy and Anonymity in the Digital Era.

Bradford, , GBR: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2006. p 117.

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/marist/Doc?id=10132661&ppg=6

Discussion Questions

1. I believe that the amateur or "homegrown" productions will continue to be seen because it is a new way for companies to be advertising.  I don't believe that it will hurt production value of professionals because they are called professionals for a reason.  If they weren't around, we wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them and the amateurs- basically I don't think they one will exist without the other.  The user-generated content I'm sure will get better in quality, but I don't think it will soon reach the quality of the professionals.

2.  I definitely find myself using Facebook the most out of social network sites mainly because literally everybody I know has a Facebook so it's a convenient way of communicating.  As somebody who has had both a MySpace and a Facebook, the difference is just the maturity.  MySpace was over concerned with cool backgrounds you could download, while Facebook is more concerned with the functionality of the site.  You can tell this because I often find my homepage being revamped to make navigation easier.  As of now I don't see Facebook dying out, however I'm sure eventually something will surpass it, but for now its a convenient way of keeping in touch for users of all ages while MySpace was usually just for teens to play around with after school.

3.  I think that transparency is such an important concept in the social media world because from the examples I read, it basically implies lying or letting money and other reactions influence what you do.  It is just as important if not more than in the offline world because while I consider it to be manipulative and sneaky in both contexts, the Social Media World can access more people at a much faster rate which can be dangerous in such situations.

Final Photoshop Project

My medium was iChat, which is used for Macs.  In this image I wanted to convey the content of having video available because that is one of the main characteristics of iChat- being able to video chat with other Mac users.  The message I am trying to convey is that Mac users everywhere are able to communicate through video with eachother.  The iChat icon in the middle of the map displays the logo of the program so you understand what the image is about, then the eye in the middle of the video camera has the Mac apple inside of it so you can make the connection with the other "apples" all around the world.  I believe that this image accurately displays the main content of iChat, and the message that people all around the world are able to video chat with eachother if the they have a Mac.

Photoshop Assignment Part 2

This is what I have so far for the photoshop assignment, in this image I am trying to convey that through iChat you can communicate with people all over the world.

Photoshop Assignment Part 1

     The medium iChat is used for video chatting.  However, unlike many other video chatting mediums like Skype and ooVoo, iChat is only for people who are Mac users.  The content of this medium includes a video camera because video chatting is the main point of iChat.  It also includes an instant messaging service much like AIM which allows the user to still talk to their "friends" without having to video chat.  Other content that is available through iChat are sound, file-sharing, and regular phone calls.
     The messages that come out of iChat include the increasing number of people who will now use video chatting.  While video chatting was a brand new concepts no more than a few years ago, it is now a common activity that people of all ages are using.  The fact that iChat is only available through a Mac computer will lead to many Mac users not using the other video chatting methods (Skype and ooVoo) because they have one built in onto their computer.  Another message from iChat is because more people are using this technology, it becomes a part of our everyday lives and we will find it hard to live without.  From personal experience with iChat, I have realized that I rely more on this technology than I thought I would, which is surprising considering I had gone sixteen or seventeen years without it and now it is something I use almost daily.  Yet another message from the medium iChat is that even though the video chatting isn't exactly face-to-face, it offers a more personal way of communicating when direct contact isn't an option.
     iChat is a new medium which includes content of instant messaging, file-sharing, sound, phone calls, and video chatting. With this new technology, iChat's messages will change society by increasing both the amount of people using video chatting, and their reliance on it; other video chatting options will lose business from Mac users since they will not need to download from any other companies; finally, it will add a personal touch to cyber-communication.

McLuhan Assignment

BlackBerry Messenger is a medium which is different from text messaging because the user does not need to have cell phone service to send a BBM, and you are able to see when your text has been delivered and when it has been read.  Additionally, you are also able to add statuses and pictures and sort of have your own profile.

This is the iPhone 4 which is a new medium used to transfer all sorts of information.   With this piece of technology you can video chat, text message, access the internet for emails, blog, and make telephone calls

This is the icon for iChat, and it is a type of medium used with Macs.  It is similar to skype and other video chatting mediums however it is only for Mac users