Sri Lanka Website Editor Arrested
Mr. Rupasinghe questioned the government's hand in many different events and this lead the his arrest. It is a very interesting article. What if our government did this? Do you think this is fair?
I feel that this is entirely out of line by the government. I think that this journalist (or any for that matter) should be able to say/write what he wants.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Class 3/24
What to post, what to post...
For the first 30 minutes or so, as a class we are going over the chapters and what we found to be important.
For chapter 6 we are talking about feedback loops and the war effort. We are talking about the idea of gated communities, the rules and regulations associated with these communities seem ridiculous but people buy into it and want to live there. The idea of surveillance is what is on hand. This iWar is showing how this war is the first of the technological age and is a scary thing to face.
Chapter 7 is about more of a political aspect. If the politicians have access to companies databases, then they can target people for their individual needs and wants. Then politicians would not actually need to have a stand on and issue, since people will just be hearing what they want. It kills creativity and seems to tie back into Lanier.
Its hard to say whether real time blogging is helpful or harmful. I think it benefits people in different ways. We are all talking about the chapters and frantically writing as we go and it helps hearing everyone's points and thoughts about the topic at hand. It is good hearing what everyone has to say and I think that it could help some, while harm others. I am sort of on the fence about it. It was a very interesting way of having class and I think that it can work from time to time but not every single day.
For the first 30 minutes or so, as a class we are going over the chapters and what we found to be important.
For chapter 6 we are talking about feedback loops and the war effort. We are talking about the idea of gated communities, the rules and regulations associated with these communities seem ridiculous but people buy into it and want to live there. The idea of surveillance is what is on hand. This iWar is showing how this war is the first of the technological age and is a scary thing to face.
Chapter 7 is about more of a political aspect. If the politicians have access to companies databases, then they can target people for their individual needs and wants. Then politicians would not actually need to have a stand on and issue, since people will just be hearing what they want. It kills creativity and seems to tie back into Lanier.
Its hard to say whether real time blogging is helpful or harmful. I think it benefits people in different ways. We are all talking about the chapters and frantically writing as we go and it helps hearing everyone's points and thoughts about the topic at hand. It is good hearing what everyone has to say and I think that it could help some, while harm others. I am sort of on the fence about it. It was a very interesting way of having class and I think that it can work from time to time but not every single day.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
iSpy: Chapter 3
The Taylor System:
Frederick Taylor is seen as the father of the complex algorithms that keep track of everything we watch on TiVo in order to suggest other shows we might like. He is a scientific management pioneer. In the workplace, Taylor would stand over employees with a notepad and a stopwatch. He would record the time it took people to accomplish their tasks.
Taylor however, did more than just stand over his employees with a notepad and a stopwatch. Taylor fine tuned his workers and the division of labor in an information intensive process. His techniques and methods of working helped create mutual interests between both management and labor. This refrain that Taylor created, carried over into the marketing realm, where, once again, asymmetrical monitoring is presented as a way for achieving harmony between in this case marketer and consumer.
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Since we love this debate so much, does this harmony Taylor created tie into our facebook debate? Is a harmony created between marketer and consumer when the internet follows us and advertises on the side of our facebooks?
Frederick Taylor is seen as the father of the complex algorithms that keep track of everything we watch on TiVo in order to suggest other shows we might like. He is a scientific management pioneer. In the workplace, Taylor would stand over employees with a notepad and a stopwatch. He would record the time it took people to accomplish their tasks.
Taylor however, did more than just stand over his employees with a notepad and a stopwatch. Taylor fine tuned his workers and the division of labor in an information intensive process. His techniques and methods of working helped create mutual interests between both management and labor. This refrain that Taylor created, carried over into the marketing realm, where, once again, asymmetrical monitoring is presented as a way for achieving harmony between in this case marketer and consumer.
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Since we love this debate so much, does this harmony Taylor created tie into our facebook debate? Is a harmony created between marketer and consumer when the internet follows us and advertises on the side of our facebooks?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
iSpy: Chapters 1 and 2
In our class discussions since the beginning, we have gotten onto the topic of advertising many times. For instance, the issue where Shane was shopping for shoes and when he went back to facebook the ad for the shoes he was looking at was right on his facebook page. This is something that we debated many times, whether the internet should follow you around.
The part of the reading in iSpy that made me think of this topic was were Andrejevic mentions "contextual advertising". His example was the way google equip the entire city of San Fransisco with free wireless internet. Since google could track where the wireless internet was being used, they would then place location specific ads, severely tight ones for that matter. The example that Andrejevic used was imagine you are working on your laptop in a park during lunch time, then you could find ads such as discounts at a sandwich shop that happens to be right across the street.
This location specific advertising and also the email messages sent over gmail, google can keep track of a lot of things you say, do, and enjoy. So it is not very difficult to imagine how "contextual" the advertising it does may become. Andrejevic describes this idea in his book as a digital enclosure, which he defines as "the creation of an interactive realm wherein every action and transaction generates information about itself."
It seems to me as a scary thought, that every single move we make on the internet has the possibility to be tracked and recorded. Andrejevic talks about the list of things that internet browsers collect from our usage on a daily basis and it seems rather scary. I wonder why they have the right to follow our wants and needs so closely. Doesn't it seem like an invasion of privacy? And that ties back into the initial paragraph and discussion we have had a countless number of times...is the idea of follow our internet history and in turn advertising it on our facebook page a invasion of our privacy?
The part of the reading in iSpy that made me think of this topic was were Andrejevic mentions "contextual advertising". His example was the way google equip the entire city of San Fransisco with free wireless internet. Since google could track where the wireless internet was being used, they would then place location specific ads, severely tight ones for that matter. The example that Andrejevic used was imagine you are working on your laptop in a park during lunch time, then you could find ads such as discounts at a sandwich shop that happens to be right across the street.
This location specific advertising and also the email messages sent over gmail, google can keep track of a lot of things you say, do, and enjoy. So it is not very difficult to imagine how "contextual" the advertising it does may become. Andrejevic describes this idea in his book as a digital enclosure, which he defines as "the creation of an interactive realm wherein every action and transaction generates information about itself."
It seems to me as a scary thought, that every single move we make on the internet has the possibility to be tracked and recorded. Andrejevic talks about the list of things that internet browsers collect from our usage on a daily basis and it seems rather scary. I wonder why they have the right to follow our wants and needs so closely. Doesn't it seem like an invasion of privacy? And that ties back into the initial paragraph and discussion we have had a countless number of times...is the idea of follow our internet history and in turn advertising it on our facebook page a invasion of our privacy?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Hackers
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12662596
This is a scary thought. Hackers can do a serious amount of damage. Take a look.
This is a scary thought. Hackers can do a serious amount of damage. Take a look.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Blog Theory Part 2
Ok so this time I think I have understood the reading much better and can write a post without sounding like a fool.
I'm going to take a look at Section 2 of Chapter 3. The part where Dean is speaking about how there was a blog surge in 2008 and an estimated 80 to 120 million blogs were being used. That continues on to say "The overwhelming majority of these appear and die in a matter of months, having been seen by few if any readers." This is where Dean was making the point that blogs were around in such and overwhelming amount that they were unable to draw attention of readers because there was nothing separating their blog from the millions of others. The select few blogs that actually have readers and followers are so open to the public and the criticism that comes along with that. Dean sums that concept up perfectly when saying "Strangers and opponents remind us of our exposure, our visibility, vulnerability, and ultimate lack of control." Then Dean goes on to cite a neo-nazi who tore into her via a blog comment about how big of a moron she was.
This vulnerability that is associated with the internet and everything you say and do on it is very scary. Everything that someone has on their facebook or myspace is out there for everyone who has internet to see. That is an example of the lack of control Dean is writing about and I agree completely. Her points are spot on and I don't think enough people realize how much information about them are out there for the world to see.
I'm going to take a look at Section 2 of Chapter 3. The part where Dean is speaking about how there was a blog surge in 2008 and an estimated 80 to 120 million blogs were being used. That continues on to say "The overwhelming majority of these appear and die in a matter of months, having been seen by few if any readers." This is where Dean was making the point that blogs were around in such and overwhelming amount that they were unable to draw attention of readers because there was nothing separating their blog from the millions of others. The select few blogs that actually have readers and followers are so open to the public and the criticism that comes along with that. Dean sums that concept up perfectly when saying "Strangers and opponents remind us of our exposure, our visibility, vulnerability, and ultimate lack of control." Then Dean goes on to cite a neo-nazi who tore into her via a blog comment about how big of a moron she was.
This vulnerability that is associated with the internet and everything you say and do on it is very scary. Everything that someone has on their facebook or myspace is out there for everyone who has internet to see. That is an example of the lack of control Dean is writing about and I agree completely. Her points are spot on and I don't think enough people realize how much information about them are out there for the world to see.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Blog Theory
After reading chapters 1 and 2 of Blog Theory by Jodi Dean, it made me think back to Terranova. The claims that Dean made had examples of what other people thought such as in Terranova with no real examples or dissection of her own. I thought that if a claim was made that some personalization should go into that claim. If you made the claim explain why you thought it to be true, not use someone else's words to. This is something that I feel I have seen before these couple books we have read.
An example that I have of this from the reading is on pages 14-15. On these pages, Dean writes...
"Even as critical thinkers in sociology, psychoanalysis, and economics consider the extremes produced in the circuits of reflexivity, techno-enthusiasts write as if reflexivity were the solution to a wide range of sical and politcal problems. Much of this writing relies on the migration of concepts from cybernetic and complexity theory into commentary on contemporary society, a migration enabled by the rapid growth of networked communicaitons. As computers became tools for everyday life, so did the language of computer networks suggest ways to analyze everyday life."
...then she goes on to prove this point by something that Steven Johnson said in his book. I would have liked to see a little more analysis of the points she took with her own words to see where she really stood on the issue. Because it is unable to truly tell whether Dean is believing it or not when using someone else's words to prove the point.
I personally feel that this migration of networked communications are concepts from this cybernetic culture. Our online activity connects us today in more ways than ever and this growth hasn't slowed down. So yes I believe that this computer networking language is a way to analyze everyday life. I know most of the information (like seen in Terranova) I get from an online source. i.e. computer or cell phone.
An example that I have of this from the reading is on pages 14-15. On these pages, Dean writes...
"Even as critical thinkers in sociology, psychoanalysis, and economics consider the extremes produced in the circuits of reflexivity, techno-enthusiasts write as if reflexivity were the solution to a wide range of sical and politcal problems. Much of this writing relies on the migration of concepts from cybernetic and complexity theory into commentary on contemporary society, a migration enabled by the rapid growth of networked communicaitons. As computers became tools for everyday life, so did the language of computer networks suggest ways to analyze everyday life."
...then she goes on to prove this point by something that Steven Johnson said in his book. I would have liked to see a little more analysis of the points she took with her own words to see where she really stood on the issue. Because it is unable to truly tell whether Dean is believing it or not when using someone else's words to prove the point.
I personally feel that this migration of networked communications are concepts from this cybernetic culture. Our online activity connects us today in more ways than ever and this growth hasn't slowed down. So yes I believe that this computer networking language is a way to analyze everyday life. I know most of the information (like seen in Terranova) I get from an online source. i.e. computer or cell phone.
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