Where the internet came from...

The concept of the internet came from the early sixties when researchers came up with the idea of linking microcomputers together across distances using telephones lines.

This is where the internet was developed from!

Thought that was quite interesting as had never really put much thought, nor heard much, about where the internet derived from.W

Going back, but Week 1's lecture notes

After reading the lecture notes for week 1 (A little late!) I found the concept of the whole living in just 'orality' quite interesting. I think we take for granted how we can store and retrieve information for years and years, and think little of the time when only orality exsisted. I found the notes interesting in terms of imagining a little society that depended only on learning how to live their lifes from what other people in that society said, and how it all changed when print forms came along and people in these societys where exposed to all these other peoples ways of living their lifes, opinions etc, which undoubtedly then changed their own expeirences of life.

Also they could have had their own theory's of such and such event from the past - even if it not correct, which would then have possibly put down on paper and been passed to our generation and believed to be accurate.

Week 2, Task 1 from Learning Journal

Quotes I took from the lister reading which I found interesting RE interactivity are the following...

"New media is understood as one of the key 'value added' characteristics of new media. Where 'old' media offered passive consumption, new media offers interactivity".


"The term stands for a more powerful sense of user engagement with media texts".
(Both quotes from = Lister et all, 2003: 20)


The first website I thought of that allows the audience to interact is http://www.facebook.com/ !
The website invites users to create their own 'page' within their website. They can send 'comments' to people from all over the world and interact with all types of different people. The same goes with any forum/bullentin boards etc, you are able to interact with lots of different people and add your own text to the text. The nature of the roles on these interactive websites are to interact with other people, whether this be sharing comments, opinions, advice or photos.

I found Listers reading hard to grasp, as he spoke about different types of 'interactivity'. Firstly he spoke of registrational interactivity, I eventually took this to mean:

Any website where you have to add too it. So for example if you join http://www.halifax.com/, you have to add your bank details! This is a form of registrational interactivity as you have to put in all of your details - which adds to the 'text'. Also bullentin boards, as the users 'input' their own comments on things that are being discussed.

Basically I am taking it as it's anything when you 'write' something - so even facebook would be under this type of interactivity. XXXXX (Blog wouldnt seperate these paragraphs!)

'Interactive communication' = He said basically that chat rooms where more interactive than bullentin boards! I have took this term then to mean that basically the more 'life-like' interaction taking place, the more 'interactive communication' it is!

However I also remember him mentioning somewhere about something to do with interactivity whereby people recieve an e-mail/text etc and then change it before passing it onto its next reciepent? Perhaps a bit like http://www.youtube.com/ I thought, as people recieve the 'text' then may change it before putting it online for more people to view.

The start of week 2 work!

Just making it clear that all the posts above this comment are work done for 'week 2'!

Week 1, Task 3 - Technological determinism.

Technological deternism means (in a very brief description) - Where technology is believed to be the force which shapes society. However society does not shape technology!

Theorists (i.e Marshall Mchluhan - 1962) believe that technology has taught us how to feel, act, etc. They believe that from mediums we have learnt essential skills that have helped us live, and our lifes change and develop from these. For example - radio, we learn to listen and our hearing supposedly improves from this, from TV - we learn to listen and watch TV, engaging both our visual and hearing senses together. These senes that we use to engage with technology we then start to put into our own life everyday, for using technology and for other aspects of our life.

People who believe in technological deternism believe strongly that technology will put together our future! Do you agree with this? I think it's a bit extreme but I think that technology if it continues to improve will undoubtedly shape our lifes. For example if they make robots that can speak for us! etc etc.

I had never heard of this term before so had to do a bit of research, these websites I found useful in conducting my own definition of the term that I understand...

http://www.regent.edu/acad/schcom/rojc/mdic/define.html

http://www.nae.edu/nae/techlithome.nsf/weblinks/KGRG-55ZQYK?OpenDocument

http://www.uky.edu/~drlane/capstone/mass/determinism.htm

Hopefully they can help some of you too.

That's if I have even got what it stands for right! Anyone find any other definitions/ways of explaining the term?

Task 2, B. Internet & It's impact on society.

The internet has undoubtedly had a huge impact on society. Where before people didnt rely on the internet for very much, now a large portion of society depend on it for a lot of things. Now you can check your bank account, book a holiday, and even do you're shopping online.

Moral panic's RE the success of internet are focused around (in my opinion) 3 areas.

Firstly, safety - Some people do not feel easy with the use of internet as you just dont know who it is your speaking too. (Obviously this only applys if using the likes of chatrooms etc) It has become known to society that in some cases young children can be speaking to inappropriate people online, which can in some cases result in a lot of danger if they meet up.

Also there is the safety issues RE virus's that you're computer can collect whilst online! This creates panic as people fear that they're computers will be ruined if they visit certain websites.

Finally there is the issue of Fraud, people can take your details and create things in your name. This is a huge moral panic and some people will even refuse to order anything online or give away any details, no matter how minor, in the fear that someone will fraud them.

The second area is consumerism. With everyone relying on the internet for everything that they need, what will happen to the shops out there? How many of you know people that do their shopping online? I am personally constantly always on the internet looking at clothes websites, I dont buy anything but if I could afford it I probably would! At home we also now do our food shopping online. I know quite a few people who do this too.

The final panic I think society has had over the internet, is because of the social impact the internet has had on society. With so many websites etc available where people can meet new people, talk to their friends etc etc, then it is understandable that people have become concerned that people will not feel the need for 'real-life' communication anymore. I think that although I can see the concern, surely these types of websites are only helping people build on the friendships they have already built? (Referring to the likes of facebook, myspace etc here, when you have already 'met' the person in real life). However, I do think some people can become too dependant on the people they meet online, and even refer to them in their own life as 'real' friends. But, if it is helping them build confidence and making them happy, then that's what matters, and it's also helping them build up good communication skills i.e how to make conversations etc.

I think that people will still always socialise, online and in real life. You can't go to a nightclub online and get the same experience etc!

After voicing my own opinions I did a bit of background reading - this website was interesting! Have a read! http://www.mysocialnetwork.net/blog/410/y42/2006/10/the_internets_impact_on_societ.html

Task 2, Part A - Goebbels view of Radio

Goebbel believed that radio was the medium that was most effective in reaching 'masses'. He believed that using the radio to air political views would result in a larger audience agreeing with what was being said. In his speech, I felt from parts that he was quite shocked that radio never use to be used to reach the mass audience RE politics.

He also believed that people in society wanted radio to take their minds off of their everyday life. He believed that this was why radio was so succsessful. He commented that radio has to bring in the everyday life to be as popular as it is, i.e radio now has news which informs the audience of whats happening today, what happened yesterday, etc.

I think that people would agree with Goebbel today, that radio is a good way to reach mass audience and that it should be used for entertainment aswell as for other issues which effect the world we live in, however I do think that now there is 'new'er mediums which might be more effective for this, or that might help build on the effectiveness (i.e if radio, internet and TV are all putting across the same message this might be more effective than just one of them doing so)

Task 2, Part A - Our views on new media

I believe that our views on new media depend on what previous knowledge we have on previous 'new' media. As in, we cannot be grateful towards new developments in new media if we did not know what was available before. (If this makes sense!) For example sky plus, now I couldn't live without it! But before I could... and I didnt sit there thinking oh if only I could record all of these programmes. But now it's here, if they ever took it away, then I would be dissapointed.



However, sky plus isnt for everyone. For example, the older generation might not use any of the 'new' media because it is not something that they grew up to value, however our generations are always waiting for the new gadget to come out so they can admire/use it.



Using a different example - mobile phones! I'm sure all of us know 'older' people who are use to the less 'new' media, who just cannot use them, no matter how much you try and explain it to them! Is this because they actually cant, or they just dont want to learn because they havent got the attitude towards the new media that we have? Is it s because to them it isnt valued, they dont see the big fuss probably, where as for us - in our modern day society, it is, as it is how we keep in contact with our friends etc.



What do you think?

Week 1, Task 1, Communication forms on the internet

Websites

Websites are what the internet evolve around, you can't access anything on the internet unless you do it through a website (even if it's something that works through being online, you still would have downloaded it from the internet via a website!)

Without websites, everything else online wouldnt exsist as we would not be able to access them. Websites allow users to access things with ease.

A website is usually a collection of webpages, (A Web page being something which is a document, typically written in HTML, that is almost always accessible via HTTP, a protocol that transfers information from the web server to display in the user's web browser.)

Websites feature all different things, such as text, images, and swav HTML which enables them to let users do all sorts of things. Websites are an easy way of displaying text to a user to inform them, however websites are also used for entertainment purposes and to keep audiences re-visiting so hits are earnt.

I use websites such as facebook, hotmail, and halifax online banking most regularly.

Week 1, Task 1, MUDS and MOOs

MUDs & MOOs


Mud - Mud stands to mean multi-user dungeon, domain or dimension. It is a multiplayer computer game that combines elements of role-playing games and chat rooms. Each person in the room gets to make up a charachter which resembles them, then they move around a 'virtual' world whilst interacting with other people. Players usually interact with each other and the surroundings by typing commands.


Moo - Stands to mean Object orientated. It is a 'text' online virtual reality system which multiple users can use and are all connected at the same time. If you log on, it will say something such as "You are standing on the grassy banks of a wide river." You then have to respond with what you want to do next, the computer will then respond to you. Players read descriptions of rooms, objects, events and other characters and respond to this with commands/comments.

I have never heard of either of these before so had to do a bit of background research, I think I have summarised the purpose of them in the shortest way I can. Do you agree with what I have explained them to be?

Week 1, Task 1, Chat rooms/MSN

IRL's chat rooms, messenger services

Chat rooms are conversations that happen online between several different people. You log into a chat room, and so can ten people from the otherside of the world, and you can speak to them using the chatroom. You all share a conversation with each other. From my own exeprience, chat rooms can become confusing because there can be too many people involved in the room and they could be all having different conversations with different people. Chat rooms have become a bit of a social scare, as sometimes young children use these without realising the safety precautions they should take.

MSN (Instant messenger services) is a bit more personal than a chatroom, because you have to know the persons e-mail address before you can add them, which they then have to accept. This means that people dont have to recieve messages from people they dont want to (which might happen in a chatroom). It also means that they can just have people they know on their so they feel safe.

When I was younger I used to play around in chatrooms and pretend I was older than I was, etc etc. I think a lot of people go on chatrooms and pretend to be someone who they are not, do you agree with this? I think on MSN this does not happen. I still use MSN and have since I was about 14, it's good for keeping in contact with friends back home, or asking my friends at Uni for advice RE work. It's also good for building your friendship up with people.

Week 1, Task 1, Usenet & Bullentin boards

Usenet and bullentin board systems

Usenet and bullentin board systems Bullentin boards allow people to speak to other people with similar interests online, it means that they can speak to these people from all over the world, but might not know them in person or be able to ever have a face to face conversation with them. Bullentin boards can be used for general chit chat, or they can be used for people to talk about specific topics, such as weight loss. People use bullentin boards to find out information, to chat, or to seek advice with others usually.

Usenet is also a world-wide communication method. It consists of a set of newsgroups which have articles or messages posted to these newsgroups. People can only post to usenet if they have the correct software on their computer. Whatever is posted is then broadcasted to other interconnecting computer systems via a wide variety of networks. Some of the posts are moderated. "Usenet is available on a wide varietyof computer systems and networks, but the bulk of modern Usenet trafficis transported over either the Internet or UUCP." I got this information from - http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part1/ as was unsure of what Usenet was. Hopefully that link will help you all to understand it further to what I have explained.

I have never come across usenet before so cannot comment on my experience of this. However, I do use bullentin boards, I find that they are useful for seeking advice on different matters, however I do think that some people become to dependant on bullentin boards for advice, such as bullentin boards on divorce, relationships etc, and instead of making their own decisions they become dependant on doing what others tell them to do.

Week 1, Task 1, Emails!

E-mail/E-mail Lists

E-mail allows people to send a written message very quickly,, to either one recipient, or several if using an
e-mail list.
Where before people relied on the likes of sending letters, where they had to work through several lengthy stages before the message was received by the recipient, now they can send the message instantly.
The message is sent through the Internet, so doesn't allow for face to face communication or verbal. (Like a phone call would).
It enables large company's, or even small ones, to send messages to co-workers quickly instead of walking to their office etc. It allows easy, quick and effective message sending.


I personally use e-mail if I want to target a large audience - in which case I use an e-mail list, for example looking for a new housemate, I found loads of people on different websites who had been looking and sent them all the same e-mail.
I also use general e-mails if I have something important to tell someone or if I generally just want a quick chat with them.
E-mails have become important to me now I am at University as it is a way of getting hold of my tutors whenever I need a bit of help with something, it also allows them to communicate with us and tell us of any room changes etc. There is two downsides to email for me, one is that you get junk e-mails, but this personally doesn't bother me that much as I just delete them everyday so my inbox is never jam packed full of them. A larger problem I have with e-mail though is that if someone e-mails you something important and you havent checked your e-mail you don't know about the 'important' message that was sent too you.

1st Blog Post!

Hiya,

This is my first post to the blog! (Obviously!) Just having a quick test.

Goodbye! x