Online Essay

The internet as cyberspace is increasingly becoming a staple in our lives. We have become so dependent on it that modern life would just not be the same if it were taken from us. This essay is going to discuss the influence cyberspace has had on a part of contemporary culture and will outline how relevant it is to society. The Internet has shaped our daily lives and made it more convenient and faster to: communicate with people; take part in online shopping; facilitate in research and information; access easy downloaded material; and aids in film culture. Furthermore, this essay will provide a reflection of my own experience with contemporary media and why it is relevant to me.

The internet has not been around very long. It only started to boom in the mid 1990s and the word Internet quickly became a common word in people's daily lives. Barry Wellman, writer of Internet Studies Through the Ages, put forth that, "The internet was seen as a bright light shining above everyday concerns" (Wellman, B 2008). The Internet has become a central element to work, entertainment and communication in the twenty first century and has transformed our day to day activities and the way we view the world. Additionally, cyberspace has created and changed the face of the internet. Cyberspace is a metaphor for describing the non-physical space created by online systems. It has brought the whole world into our hands with just the touch of a key or click of a mouse, without leaving the house or office (www.webopedia.com).

One of the most significant reasons cyberspace is relevant to modern society is because of its power as a communications tool. Cyberspace connects people by enabling them to transfer information quickly over any distance, long or short. It had more significance for people in rural areas but now has become part of everyday life no matter where you at situated. Cyberspace has become the most efficient way to communicate with others over taking every other communication technologies such as, making a phone call or sending a letter. The most common use of communication on the internet is email and messenger, which is a staple for nearly everyone but especially businesses and students (Wakeman, E 2008). In addition to those forms of communication there are also social networking sites that have become extremely popular such as, facebook, myspace, twitter etc. And they are not only being used by the younger generation but older generations are using them as well. All because it makes it very easy to connect and communicate with people no matter where they are (Kollock, K & Smith, M 1999). I use email almost everyday mostly to contact tutors and lecturers which is very useful if I am in need of help and have a question to ask. I can quickly and conveniently communicate electronically without actually tracking them down at university in person. I also have a facebook account helps me to keep in touch with friends and family that I might not see a lot. Another element of the Internet connecting people includes media like webcam and skype. Skype allows people to have video conversations online with their webcams. This normally becomes useful if someone is on holidays or overseas and I have used it with a friend who is traveling Europe. You can not only talk to them and hear their voice but you can also capture their facial expressions, which allows another dimension of communication. This certainly helps from missing people who are far away.

Another effective element of cyberspace is online shopping. Instead of fighting for a car park or walking around all day trying to find the items you want, you can now purchase items with the click of a mouse and usually at a discounted price. Today, shoppers can nearly buy anything they want, from groceries to clothes, from books to electronics to cars and so on. However, there are scam artists out there and people can get ripped off also so it is a question of buyer beware, but most of the time online shopping is safe if you visit reputable websites (www.privacyrights.org). The most common online shopping site is ebay, where you can purchase absolutely anything as well as rare items that you would not be able to find in normal stores. My experience with online shopping is very limited since I do not have a debit or credit card. But I’ve purchased music festival tickets with my parent’s credit card and some DVD’s that I could not find at another store.

Equally important is the use of cyberspace as one giant public library that is accessible from anywhere you have access to a computer and an online connection. It has become the number one research tool when requiring information. With countless search engines to find information on practically any subject. Not only is finding information easily accessible but it is fast, accurate and most importantly free (Norman, N & Erbring, L
2000). Many people depend on cyberspace as a research tool in contemporary society. Most importantly students use it for help with essay papers and general information research. The countless search engines include google, yahoo, ask, bing and the list goes on and on. The most significant search engine is google and it has become a common word in people’s everyday vocabulary. People no longer search they internet they ‘google’ the information they are trying to find (Lewis, J 2008). As well as information being easily accessible through search engines, there are many online journal and library catalogues, which can help researching more thoroughly and accurately. One such site is google scholar or google books, which I must say is very useful for the countless essays and assignments I have to write. I don’t know where I would be without cyberspace as a research tool. Regular books are very useful, but are not as easily accessible as the cyberspace information described above.

Film culture in cyberspace has become increasingly relevant to contemporary society. There are several reasons that film is becoming popular over the Internet. Firstly, there are film sites such as international movie databases that have all the information you need on basically any film, as well as reviews, quotes and soundtracks from each film. Secondly, speaking of reviews, there are many websites that purely focus on reviewing and rating films. Thirdly there are websites that function as promotional material for theatrical film releases such as, official film websites and trailers. What’s more is there are video search engines such as youtube, vimeo, google videos etc. You can search videos on anything and consumers can become producers by uploading their own videos for the rest of the world to watch (Wolofsky, J 2008). Personally, I use youtube nearly everyday to lookup film trailers and live music performances mainly. I have also uploaded several videos of my own onto youtube to link it to other websites. Unfortunately this new film culture technology has one major drawback, this involves the illegal download of films that have not even been released and people can actually watch them whenever they wish and for free. This is becoming increasingly more common and is costing the film industry billions of dollars.

In conclusion, as more and more people log on to the internet and have cyberspace embedded into their lives, it has changed and is still changing the way we live, work and play in society and the way we interact with each other. Therefore the internet as cyberspace has become very relevant and a stable influence in our contemporary society with everyone having their own individual experience with it. However, while the technology that enables this online interaction has great power, with it comes new social responsibilities and challenges.

List Of References

2000, “Online Shopping Tips” http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs23-shopping.htm, Oct 23

2002, “Cyberspace” http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/c/cyberspace.html, Oct 22

Kollock, K & Smith, M 1999, “Communities in Cyberspace” http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=harO_jeoyUwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP15&dq=Communities+in+Cyberspace+(Smith+%26+Kollock+1999)&ots=JWSLcJfyAS&sig=H_lGenLytDmAx3jBUZmibkqzRBM#v=onepage&q=Communities%20in%20Cyberspace%20(Smith%20%26%20Kollock%201999)&f=true, Oct 23

Lewis, J 2008, “Has Google Become a Modern God?” http://www.seo-chicks.com/645/has-google-become-a-modern-god.html, Oct 23

Norman, N & Erbring, L 2000, “Internet and Society” http://www.timeuse.org/information/studies/data/downloads/usa/1999/PreliminaryReport.pdf, Oct 23

Wakeman, E 2008, “The Internet: Redfining Modern Society” http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~ewakeman/Internet.pdf, Oct 22

Wellman, B 2008, “Studying Internet Studies Through the Ages” University of Toronto, https://learning.secure.griffith.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_71279_1&frame=top, 22 Oct

Wolofsky, J 2008, http://www.ryerson.ca/library/subjects/comcult/movie.html, Oct 23

Essay Research

The idea of the internet as cyberspace has been a part of our contemporary culture for some time, particularly in the popular medium of film. But is the concept of cyberspace still relevant to our contemporary society? Discuss with reference to your own experience of contemporary media.

1. Communities in Cyberspace (Smith & Kollock 1999)

I chose this book because it entails information about communities in cyberspace, which was once a small niche and now it is everywhere. Computer cyberspace can be used for political debate, social networking, public interest, popular culture and the list could go on. Instead of people talking to machines, computer networks are working on connecting people to people.

2. Virtual worlds and the social realities of cyberspace (Schroeder 1995)

This journal will be helpful because it outlines that digital technologies are playing huge roles in our lives in contemporary society. It also outlines media speculation and questioned how these technologies will affect us in the future. It also entails interactivity and realistic generated worlds in cyberspace.

3. The End of Cyberspace and Other Surprises (Thomas 2006)

This journal reports on Web 2.0, the possible end of cyberspace and the internet. It also depicts how technology has changed and enhanced and outlines the pros and cons of the world wide web. As well as stating that the internet has become a barrier with social face to face networking.

4. Information and Communication Technologies and Society (Fuchs 2009)

This article introduces the concept of Critical Internet Theory and gives an analysis of the accumulation strategies employed by corporations. As well as asking the question, what theoretical foundation is needed for studying the internet and society?

5. Embedding the Internet Into the Lives of College Students (Ogan, Ozaka & Groshek 2007)

This journal puts forth of how the internet is increasingly embedded into our lives, especially college students or should I say university students! This study reports the results of a web survey of a group of university undergraduates exploring the nature of both online and offline in five areas; the use of news and information, the discussion of politics, the seeking of health information, the use of blogs, and the downloading of media and software.

Evaluation

This subject has been quite insightful. I thought it would be something complete different with just history of the internet, where it came from etc. But it has been very interesting and interactive. The topics that stuck out for me were things such as, internet socialising and 3D worlds and actually having to witness them yourself and interact was quite new to me. As well as learning about consumption and production, where everyday, normal people can create digital media such as fan videos and trailers. More over, I enjoyed learning about creative commons, which helps people use and share media over the web, without breaking copyright rules.

Making the short video clips was interesting too, which just shows that amateurs can make decent videos, simply, easily and quickly. The tutorial tasks were also very interactive and interesting and just show that people can interact with anything and anyone over the net, by signing e petitions, contacting members of parliament etc. 

New communications technologies is something everyone should learn about because the internet and technology plays a huge part in todays society and that we all need to be in the know about what is happening in the ever changing web. New communications technologies is eye opening in knowing how much we depend on technology and how technology enhancement is changing how we live and the world around us.

Utopia and the Web

This week's lecture was done by Jason Nelson. Who basically focussed on the top of Utopia, which in theory is a word for an ideal community of society. But, he talked about web Utopia. Jason put forth that when the web first came about, companies put a lot of money into web technologies but then came the 'dot com' crash, where the stockmarket wiped out millions on internet technology, however by adding .com to the end of their site, the stocks would shoot back up again. This just demonstrates how much the internet changes, where putting something as simple as .com can bring back viewers. However, people can get bored of certain internet sites and move on to the next (Facebook instead of Myspace), hence that the internet is so unpredicable.

A lot of people are searching for Utopia but creators need to target specific groups in order for their web business to succeed. This can be achieved when producers continuously work, change and produce interesting material. Maybe that is why Facebook always changes with new elements added.

Political Participation Via the Internet

1. Sign an e-petition: I signed an e-petition on a new law against racism, so every person receives respect (http://alagarac.epetitions.net/).

2. Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site: I responded to an article on the Courier Mail website about 'Dead koalas delivered to Parliament'. I left a comment saying, "I do believe Koalas should be saved but putting dead koalas outside parliament is a bit too far."

3. What is Barak Obama up to today? I went straight to twitter for this, his last twittered comment was..feeling fired up and ready to go on health insurance reform (http://twitter.com/BARACKOBAMA)

4.Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are: Local: Grace Grace, State: Anna Bligh, Federal: Kevin Rudd (http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/legislativeAssembly/members_current.asp).

5.Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your local member spoke in parliament: Thursday 17 September 2009 (http://parlinfo.parliament.qld.gov.au/isysquery/069d3944-d5bf-4a79-a49e-35be95c97799/21-24/list/).

6.Let your local member know what you think about their last speech: I emailed her a quick summary of her speech on opening the Windsor School of Arts. (Brisbane.Central@parliament.qld.gov.au).

Political Possibilities

This week's lecture was not on, due to a strike. But Stephen Stockwell has put up some information up for us to read. He put forth that these days, the internet can really be used for anything, even CyberPolitics! CyberPolitics is a new function of the internet, where political activities can occur on forums, between bloggers and games. There is also eDemocracy, which is the internets contribution to real world politics, where you can even sign ePetitions etc. It is handy because the government can reach more and more people with the internet. Everday, normal people can have their say about politics and government on the internet. However, there are hackers out there. But can do global democracy good as well by providing spaces for debates for voices that could never be heard through mainstream media, creating more transparent information for political debates and allow people to have their own communication solutions.

There is also a new word I've never heard of, Cyberpunk. Which is a science fiction genre which features advanced science such as, information technology and cybernetics. It is also couples with radical change in the social order.

Another thought I had, that probably in the near future instead of going into election booths to vote for elections, you will probably be able to do it on the internet.

Three Minute Video

This is my second video, so I've thrown together a few bits and pieces of photos, music, themes, sound effects, photobooth and iMovie. I checked out some CC websites, which was interesting and appropriate. Sorry about my babbling! Also, I know there is a typo but it took forever to load it onto youtube, I just left it.

Free Culture, Free Society

"Our current culture is one in which creators get to create only with the permission of the powerful, or of creators from the past" - Lawrence Lessing (2004) Free Culture

This week's lecture entailed discussion about creative commons, which started in December 2002.and is a non profit organisation which promotes reasonable copy right. It enables creators to make their work available by being able to freely use and modify other people's works to create something else and share medias. So instead of having all rights reserved it demonstrates some rights reserved which is a much more relaxed copyright system.

Additionally we discussed free software, where Richard M Stallman started the free software foundation in 1981, however the name free software then changed to open source. There are two types of software propriety and open source. Propriety software is a closed source where you cannot legally share or copy for others. Examples of this are; Windows, MacOs, Internet Explorer, Photobucket etc. On the other hand we have free software, where you can share it with other people and anyone can see it, edit it and use it. Examples of this are: Firefox, Linux, Open Office, VLC etc.

Short Video

I had a look around to see what photos I had on my mac and thought these would do the trick. I found iMovie really easy to use, however I did use it years ago but it was an older version and forgot. I also never new you could film on photobooth, I thought it just took photos, which is really useful. Adding photos, clips and music to iMovie is easy and I chose a theme too, which makes it a bit more interesting to look at.

Consumption and Production

This week's lecture was about consumption and production. Josh discussed that the media was best shared with the public through cinema as it is a public shared place with lots of people. Secondly there was the television, which is shared within the home or privately consumed. Thirdly there was the personal computer which is both private and shared. Josh also spoke about the small screen such as fixed media players, personal media platers and mobile phones. He then talked about how we are consuming more media then ever before not only through cinema, tv and computer but through mobile phones where you can receive news, sport etc. Although there is a large amount of consumption he went on to discuss production. People are producing media such as fan films and fan edits with extra content from dvds. Josh showed us some fan made trailers which were quite entertaining and smart, however they were originally consumed at first. Additionally we watched a short youtube clip of a film made entirely on a cell phone which I thought was touching. I've posted it below.

3D Worlds and Socialising on the Internet

The 3D chat room environment I chose was habbo hotel. Firstly I registered and designed my little made up character and got chatting. There are a range of different places in habbo hotel to chat, such as, party rooms, dating rooms, trading rooms, game rooms, the pool etc. I can definately tell that majority of the users are young, ranging from 10 - 16 years old. I found this out because people were telling eachother their ages and the content of the conversation was definately immature. Personally I rather talk to my friends and only the people I know on msn messenger for several reasons. Firstly, I know exactly who I'm talking to, we can send songs, files to one another and thirdly, it's realistic! However if I was young, naive and bored habbo hotel would be a fun place to play games, meet new people and hide behind a fictional character. The 3D aspect of habbo hotel might help make chatting more exciting for younger people but for me it was actually tedious going on to the site. Ultimately if you want to simply talk to a friend in a personal atmosphere then instant messenger is the way to go, but if you want to talk to people you don't know, play games and interact more then the 3D chat world is best for you.

Media? Web 2.0? Social Media?

This week's lecture was all about the internet, technology and media. Technology is the actual physical object, whereas media is used for social and cultural communication where technology becomes the medium for that communication. There are certain themes for internet studies such as; virtual community, where people chat to each other long enough to form real feelings and relationships. Another theme is individual identity, where we can create ourselves over the internet through facebook pages, blogs etc. The internet is becoming increasingly popular and becoming normal to meet people with similar interests to you. It may be hard to meet someone in a bar, who probably doesn't hold the same interest as you but you can do specific searches on the internet. There is a new element called ego centric social network where the focus moves away from groups to you, the individual. Take example myspace, where people take countless photos of themselves and talk about themselves like they're advertising themselves to the world.



Then comes web 2.0. Out with the old and in with the new. Web 2.0 features folksonomy, using 'tags' on posts or items, the idea of user-generated context, where people make stuff such as photos, videos and put them on the internet and open API, where you can share data between services. Additionally there is social media which features blogs, social network services and content sharing communities. However with all these exciting new features, our personal details are becoming more easily accessible and it's our privacy we need to think about.

Language of Cinema

Week three's lecture was about cine-speak, which is learning the language of cinema. There are many different shots to create different effects and meaning. Therefore, the close up answers the question of 'who' by showing the character in detail. The mid shot answers the question of what by showing the actor in action. The long shot answers the where in the establishing shot. The wide shot and the close up can answer the when question, however time can be a difficult thing to capture on screen. The big close up can answer the why question by revealing more about the character, trying to see inside them. To answer how we can use a single medium shot or a range of close ups to explain an event. 

Additionally there are other elements to cine-speak such as; headroom, talking room, rule of thirds (balance in a shot), the 180 degree rule where there are cameras on one side of the event, inserts and cut aways (providing extra information inside or outside the scene) and most importantly the scene needs to make a statement and drive the narrative forward.

Video Killed the Radio Star

Just a funny vid about video taking over radio and how technology is always enhancing.

Search Engines

How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?

Early search engines ranked pages based on page contents, formatting and based on the content of metadata tags. However when Google arrived it ranks by how frequently other sites link to you, not by what you do or don't say on your site. (http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/misc/searchworks.html)

Who, or what, makes one page more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?

If you're searching diabetes and the word diabetes comes up over and over then it is likely this would be at the top of the list as well as how many hits it has gotten. (http://www.monash.com/spidap4.html)

What are some of your favourite search engines? Why do you like one more than others?

My favourite search engine is Google as it is precise and easy. It shows up much more then yahoo or ask which I used earlier in the scavenger hunt. I just think it's the most dependable search engine.

Scavenger Hunt

Try to answer these questions without using Google or Wikipedia.

1. What did Alan Turing wear while riding his bicycle around Bletchley Park? A gas mask. (http://autism.about.com/b/2006/07/30/alan-turing-autistic-savant.htm?iam=metaresults&terms=build+a+motor)

2. On what date did two computers first communicate with each other? Where were they? In 1972 first email is developed by Ray Tomlinson. (www.nethistory.info/History of the Internet/email.html)

3. What is Bill Gates’ birthday and what age was he when he sold his first software? 28th October 1955 and seventeen years old. (http://www.answers.com/topic/bill-gates)

4.Where was the World Wide Web invented? At CERN in Geneva. (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article /0,1564,1367151, 00.html)

5. How does the power of the computer you are working on now compare with the power of a personal computer from 30 years ago? 30 years ago the computer was used for educational purposes only through educational games, word processor, databases, spreadsheets and research tools. However today computers are used for nearly everything and anything, such as socializing, games, music, videos, shopping etc. (http://www.portical.org/fouts.pdf)

6.What is the weight of the largest parsnip ever grown? 5.7kg. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture /3348613/Giant-vegetable-growers-rejoice-in-wet-summer.html)

7.When did Queensland become a state and why is the Tweed River in New South Wales? 1859, the river was kept in New South Wales because it provided economic, social and ecological fabric to the town. (http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/d ocs/recboat/tweed-part1.pdf)

8. What was the weather like in south-east Queensland on 17 November 1954?

9. Why is is Lord Byron still remembered in Venice? Because he proudly claimed he had women on 200 consecutive nights. (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/byron.htm)

10. What band did Sirhan Chapman play in and what is his real name? The Black Assassins. (www.myspace.com/theblackassassins)

Now that is over, I actually found it quite hard without google or wikipedia. Although there are many other search engines, I feel google is most precise. I found my self changing the words around countless times to try and find the answers I needed. I still couldn't find the answer to question 8 or the second part of question 10. I really thought it wouldn't be as difficult as it was without google and wikipedia. However I mainly used yahoo.com and ask.com of which were fairly helpful in my quest for the answers!

Experience with New Communication Technologies

I've for a while now. I started using the internet in my primary school years, googling information for assignments. I later got a mobile phone when I was twelve to contact family and friends. I only started using the internet to communicate with friends and family when I was thirteen. The thing that influenced me to get a mobile phone was my parents giving me a mobile for safety and emergencies however I used it to communicate with people more then anything. New communication technology has created easy access to personal details and some worry about privacy and its affects. However if you are smart about putting personal details on your facebook page, then I think that's acceptable but it varies from person to person. But it doesn't bother me so much because I don't give out personal details I don't want strangers knowing. But I do sometimes become curious when you register for certain things and you have to give out your address and phone number etc, but I havn't had any problems concerning internet privacy. What's more is that I don't have any internet friends whom I only know over the internet that I've never met. And it is definitely different to friends that you see nearly everyday because if you do have internet friends that you've never met you would never know who exactly it is, as people could be hiding their true identity. Ultimately I purely use the internet for information for assignments, socializing with friends, listening to music and watching videos. I think new communication technology is an effective tool for everyday.

History of the Computer and Internet

'Cyberspace is poetry inhabited, and to navigate through it is to become leaf on the wind of a dream.' Novak



Week two's lecture was about the history of computing and the internet. The first computers were first commercially produced in the 1950s by IBM. The first generation of computers were large machines used only for military, government and corporate work but it was known that computers would become smaller, quicker and less expensive in years to come (Stockwell 2009). The internet came about in the 1960s when the idea arose by RAND corporation. "The internet a network of networks...to link people around the world into an information system" (Stockwell 2009). Later came the world wide web in the early 1990s and it has just enhanced significantly from there.

Are you ready?

This is a short film clip about how we communicate, collaborate and connect in faster broader ways then ever before. It takes a look at how far technology has enabled us to come and has opened up many new opportunities. I chose this video because it is so amazing how far technology has come throughout the years and how much further it will come. How easy it is to communicate with people now through email, facebook, chat, skype and many other ways over the internet. But in the olden days it was face to face or through a letter. Additionally we can purchase and sell things over the internet, look up information, watch videos, play games and countless others. Technology is always changing and will continue to change and enhance for a long time.

Welcome

I'm Despina also known as Dez for short. I'm currently studying a bachelor of communications at Griffith university. The subjects I have chosen this semester are New Communcation Technology, Youth and Society, Social Enterprise and Research and Screen History. I enjoy learning about societal issues, film and literature but still don't know exactly what I'm going to major in. I chose the course basically because it interested me and has a wide range of subjects to choose from as I ama little confused about what I want to do in the future.