Identities and social interactions are often defined within the contexts of the communities we inhabit. Dynamics such as time, bodies and space are experienced differently online as opposed to real life, altering the way we experience and engage with these elements. Whilst our experience of these are often subject to a form of disembodiment, they do contain limitations, which are set out by regulators within specific communities and general guidelines established by the WC3.
In offline world social interactions and identities are often seen as being synonymous with our physical selves. The way our bodies look and move can give clues about our cultural preferences, racial origin, our supposed personal habits, value systems and more controversially a physical type is often associated with certain personality traits, regardless of whether or not that person possesses those qualities. Slater (2007) refers to a kind of liberation from this process experienced on the net which he refers to as “disembodiment”.
The quest for authentic communication and social interaction based on the cerebral rather than the corporeal can be actualized via the internet. Physical participation in any overt sense is not needed to form friendships and develop alliances; users can choose simply not to show what they look like. The body nevertheless has a role in virtual communities; its omission in communities often gives way to the formation of virtual selves expressed in virtual physical form examples include Wow, Second Life etc. (Mayra, 2008) Furthermore, images can be altered via Photoshop, performing selves that users may not feel comfortable expressing in day to day life. Its expression can be used in a different way to real life yet it is variable depending on the context and medium the user chooses to engage with so long as they conform with the guidelines of the wider community.
There is a wide array of choices are available for users of the internet to select and develop their avatar and/or character and engage in role play and furthermore the opportunity to monetize actual or created physical attractiveness can be facilitated via self published sites. “Danielle DeVoss has argued that (these) women’s self-published porn sites can be seen as “identity projects”(2002:76). And Ruth Barcan maintains that more generally, images – particularly those of nudity – now play an important part in the way we form our identities” (Atwood, 2007) The presentation of our selves online, facilitates this ability to monetize our identity to a greater extent than what is available in offline contexts. The power to act as an individual agent is greater and not as monopolized as performance spaces and contexts are in real life.
Whilst expression on the internet lends itself to various multimedia forms, it is also subject to censorship and accessibility standards. The only uniformed approach to these regulations is provided by the WC3, which outlines in its Platform for Internet Selection Document”(Resnick, 1999) “The PICSRules specification provides a common format for expressing filtering criteria, which makes it easy for one entity to set filtering criteria which are then installed and run by someone else” The document was established out of concern that children may gain access to unsuitable materials.
Consequently, it can be clearly ascertained that forms of identity and social interactions in terms of bodies, time and space online aren’t limitless; there are very specific codes and netiquettes, specific to each community, rules and conventions on the net are usually brought into place to safeguard and make internet usage a safe experience, these codes and conventions differ community to community and some restrictions are specifically relevant to geographical locations such as China, who's access to many western applications such as facebook is limited. So whilst the notion of identity is not only recognized within a localized geographical community it can actually be viewed and accessed on an international scale with variable political and social ramifications.
So whilst “The apparent annihilation of space online pro-motes a sense of co-presence, that people can be present to each other in a way that corresponds to face to face interaction”, this description of internet best translates into a mundane and everyday experience of the internet, which involves catching up with friends and family, being involved in web community that shares you value systems and beliefs. In fact many communities thrive in an online environment, provided they comply with the regulations within that community. Furthermore, Slater (2002) asserts that “The notion of disembedding gave rise to one of the largest sets of claims about life online: that new media could sustain communities that were entirely virtual”, thus having wider implications on the way people socialize in everyday life. Whilst notions of greater accessibility for marginalized members of the community is relevant here, it also illustrates the potential significance group selection and regulation in the socialization process, should groups of people within communities, wider international community’s get along.
In Pascoe’s article Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out: Living and Learning with New Media (2009) he identifies a process of initiation that users or members of a community have to go through in order to become accepted as potential dating material by their peers. This kind of screening of members is considered a highly important process as value and power are given to those members that meet and move beyond the standards of the group, which are often physically and textually based. In online dating scenarios people who are considered more valuable or well regarded in dating and social sites, tend to have less available time to be on these sites, they will post briefly and regularly and on the odd occasion will make a contribution that accrues merit in the eyes of their peers, such as an impressive new avatar, or information that is regarded as coveted by other members of the group.
It is interesting to note that the conceptualization of time in social interaction and formation of identity within dating sites are essentially different from online gaming communities. Hours spent on an online gaming community are honored and participants can accrue status points in this fashion, in an online dating context this could quite easily be construed as being stalkerish and creepy, there are no points of recognition of status to be gained in this fashion. (Mayra, 2008, Pascoe, 2009)
Outside of dating and sexual contexts selection of group members and formation of online communities and identities are often selected according to value systems rather than bodies. Dawson (2007) discusses how the content of online religious participation can be selected according to specific tastes. There is a smorgasbord of online religious practice available in every conceivable religion imaginable. There are some online groups which are set up by established organized religions, and there are those that are much more casual in their approach to online worship. These groups are not constrained by physical space, they do not need to be performed within a specific religious building, participants can engage in active religious worship from the comfort of their own home, nor are they inaccessible to those within different time zones etc.
Traditionally, religious groups have reaped economic benefits of millions of willing participants and worshippers. Churches, Temples, Ashrams and Mosque s have been built from the revenue obtained in this fashion. Physical space and the creation of sacred and holy spaces have been integral to the practice of religious worship for thousands of years they constitute some of the most spectacular examples of architecture and design in the world. Historically, churches and places of worship have dominated and defined the character of town centers as places of communion with god and neighbor. Religious participation online has changed and decentralized forms of worship; there are no fixed physical spaces in online communities. Money is less likely to be retained within a worshipper’s local community, but instead will go to the facilitator, or creator of the site who may or may not be affiliated with one of the traditional religions. Anyone can set up a religious cyber community.
Religious ceremony, rituals and participation can occur online, within a community regardless of location, using a cyber space rather than a physical space.
We do not have to be physically present, our bodies can be placed in the safety of our own homes, meaning that we are not in any immediate danger of religious persecution, should we choose to find a community of like minded individuals. Religion on line helps facilitate meaningful engagements with peers with the same faith, regardless of location, these are sometimes experienced as an extension of worship in a building of worship or it can form the basis of religious worship and community.
In conclusion, the understanding of the how dynamics such as our bodies, time and space interact with each other are integral to understanding the way social forms and understandings of identities will emerge. Each online community and region will often have its own set of norms and regulations, which is often integral and central to the construction of identity and socialization on a group and individual basis. The emergence of the internet as a main form of socialization in everyday contexts and its ability to sustain itself as a community completely independently re-contextualizes the way the average citizen within the 21st century will experience community, socialization and formation of identity. A comprehension of guidelines within a community and those established by the W3C are important for users of the internet to understand as they reflect wider cultural and social differences.
Bibliography
Attwood, F. (2007). No Money Shot? Commerce, Pornography and New Sex Taste Cultures. Sexualities, 10(4), 441-456. doi: 10.1177/1363460707080982. In E-Reserve.
Brooks, G, and various commentators. (2008, July 8). Counting Rupees: Korea bangs. Joystiq. Blog Post. (Archived by WebCite).
Gilbert, B. (2008) “Web Content/Social Networking,” Blog, Corporate Power in New Media. Archived by WebCite.
Dawson, L. L., & Cowan, D. E. (2004). Introduction. In Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet (pp. 1-16). New York: Routledge. In E-Reserve.
Frans Mayra. (2008). The Real and the Game: Game Culture Entering the New Millenium. In An Introduction to Game Studies (pp. 118-151). London: Sage. In E-Reserve
Hyatt, N (2008, May 23). What Makes Gaming Social? GigaOM. Url: (Archived by WebCite).
Mansell, R. (2004). Political Economy, Power and New Media. New Media & Society, 6(1), 96-105. In E-Reserve.
Micah M. White, “Facebook Suicide ,” Adbusters, June 4, 2008. Archived by WebCite.
An Nguyen, "The Interaction between Technologies and Society: Lessons Learnt from 160 Evolutionary Years of Online New Services ," First Monday, 12(3). (Archived by WebCite).
Pascoe, C.J. (2009). Intimacy in Mizuko, I et. al. Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out: Living and Learning with New Media. Available from http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/book-intimacy.
Resnick, P “Pics Censorship and Intellectual Freedom FAQ” August 4, 1999 http://www.w3.org/PICS/PICS-FAQ-980126.html
Shafi, “Can a Virtual Community be any different from the experience of a Real Community?” Incoherent Thoughts, December 13, 2005. Archived by WebCite.
Don Slater. (2002). Social Relationships and Identity Online and Offline. In Leah A. Lievrouw, Sonia M. Livingstone & Sonia M. Livingstone (Eds.), Handbook of New Media (pp. 533-546). In E-Reserve.
Williams, R. & Edge, R. (1997). What is the Social Shaping of Technology?. The Research Centre for Social Science.
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Thursday, November 25, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Social Shaping of Technology vs Technological Determinism.
Williams, R. & Edge, R. (1997). What is the Social Shaping of Technology?. The Research Centre for Social Science.
These authors criticise the exaggeration of the inherent qualities of technology. What is SST? What is technological determinism? What does SST offer in contrast?
SST refers to the “Social shaping of technology”, which basically means how social factors have a role in shaping new technological developments, rather than studying the impact that a particular type of technology may have on society. This often involves looking at socio-economic factors that influence particular trends and identifying areas which are important in maintaining a technological community that is democratic and accessible to its citizens.
“SST is seen as playing a positive role in integrating natural and social science concerns; in offering a greater understanding of the relationship between scientific excellence, technological innovation and economic and social well-being; and in broadening the policy agenda, for example in the promotion and management of technological change (European Science Foundation/Economic and Social Research Council 1991, Newby 1992).”
It also involves how policy regarding technological development is implemented through consideration of scientific, social and economic demands rather than the neo-classical tradition which tend to have a linear a focuses such as market demand for a product. Instead it attempts to incorporate or construct frameworks which have its origins in a variety of intellectual traditions.
One of the important points raised in the article is the academic movement towards understanding what these social factors are and implementing new frameworks to shed light on older studies as well. The foundation of SST is based on the premise that technological developments occur as a series of choices made by the innovator. The concern of SST studies is the identification of these social factors that inform these choices and their social implications.
SST arose as a criticism of traditional literature which emphasised the concept of Technological determinism as being central to its analytical framework.
In the lecture Kent describes how Technological determinism works around some basic assumptions, which are now considered to be outdated such as “Class development is driven by how things are produced, Technology is apolitical, we were always going to have them. And identifies how the “moral dimension is removed from these kinds of things - the raw technology” is problematic. Asserting that “Its an inaccurate assumption because it prevents us from seeing our responsibility/ is outdated.”
"SST stands in contrast to post-Enlightenment traditions which did not
problematise technological change, but limited the scope of enquiry to
monitoring the social adjustments it saw as being required by technological
progress."
The article also identifies several shortcomings of these approaches and describes the importance of the formation of new and relevant frameworks which take these failings into consideration.
The Confession: A Novel
These authors criticise the exaggeration of the inherent qualities of technology. What is SST? What is technological determinism? What does SST offer in contrast?
SST refers to the “Social shaping of technology”, which basically means how social factors have a role in shaping new technological developments, rather than studying the impact that a particular type of technology may have on society. This often involves looking at socio-economic factors that influence particular trends and identifying areas which are important in maintaining a technological community that is democratic and accessible to its citizens.
“SST is seen as playing a positive role in integrating natural and social science concerns; in offering a greater understanding of the relationship between scientific excellence, technological innovation and economic and social well-being; and in broadening the policy agenda, for example in the promotion and management of technological change (European Science Foundation/Economic and Social Research Council 1991, Newby 1992).”
It also involves how policy regarding technological development is implemented through consideration of scientific, social and economic demands rather than the neo-classical tradition which tend to have a linear a focuses such as market demand for a product. Instead it attempts to incorporate or construct frameworks which have its origins in a variety of intellectual traditions.
One of the important points raised in the article is the academic movement towards understanding what these social factors are and implementing new frameworks to shed light on older studies as well. The foundation of SST is based on the premise that technological developments occur as a series of choices made by the innovator. The concern of SST studies is the identification of these social factors that inform these choices and their social implications.
SST arose as a criticism of traditional literature which emphasised the concept of Technological determinism as being central to its analytical framework.
In the lecture Kent describes how Technological determinism works around some basic assumptions, which are now considered to be outdated such as “Class development is driven by how things are produced, Technology is apolitical, we were always going to have them. And identifies how the “moral dimension is removed from these kinds of things - the raw technology” is problematic. Asserting that “Its an inaccurate assumption because it prevents us from seeing our responsibility/ is outdated.”
"SST stands in contrast to post-Enlightenment traditions which did not
problematise technological change, but limited the scope of enquiry to
monitoring the social adjustments it saw as being required by technological
progress."
The article also identifies several shortcomings of these approaches and describes the importance of the formation of new and relevant frameworks which take these failings into consideration.
The Confession: A Novel
Social Media, Online Marketing and Advertising
"People’s barriers are down and they fail to realize the extent to which corporations affect their online behaviour". How true is this statement?
E-marketing is an area that I am fairly new to and unfamiliar with, but will no doubt be more aquianted with through the course of my studies. Advertising is cited as the main corporate activity on the internet, but it also happens to be an activity that is found in all areas of society. On a daily basis we are bombarded with television advertising, billboards, flyers and advertisements in papers, a lot of the power of advertising relies on its ability to infiltrate the subconscious. Privacy issues are probably greater in online contexts as mentioned as they many of the social networking tools are utilised as ways of finding out information which can then be used in an effective advertising or marketing campaign.
The "social" element of Social Media and Applications to a degree probably does effect whether people are guarded in their approach to online advertising. A lot of these applications encourage informal and regular interaction with friends and family, consequently to a certain degree marketers are in a prime position to inter into the realm of both the publicly performed self and the intimate as many of its users regular operate in both modes sometimes simultaneously. Approaches to online marketing differ to those found within traditional market place settings. The fact that these approaches differ to online marketing is interesting to note as it means that things like economy, power and corporations exist in a different framework so take on a new meaning. I agree with the perspective held by some that a lot of marketing tactics online, are tacky, inconsiderate of their audiences and invasive and I doubt whether these businesses in the long run will be as fruitful as those that are respectful and considerate of their audiences.
In my fairly narrow experience of having worked as a telemarketer and on email campaigns the main problem with e-mail campaigns is that barely anyone responds to an e-mail alone. I guess it depends on the product as well. As for facebook, myspace etc, sometimes the marketers do not give their audiences enough credit and I they have been described by some as being quite "Obnoxious", I myself have been irritated by their ads on more than one occasion. I think I'd be more likely to buy services on the net, like a trip to a day spa or holiday, but that was if I had a disposable income, I don't so it is unlikely that I would purchase anything asides from concert tickets or books occasionally. I am inclined to agree that facebook marketing works if your friend knows some one that makes or sells a unique product like hats, scarves, artworks etc, you are much more likely to want to buy them.
Is e-marketing is always a bad thing? I guess a significant social concern would be the distribution of wealth and whether or not marketing practices are ethical. Are there adequate bodies to oversee such activities?
Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation
E-marketing is an area that I am fairly new to and unfamiliar with, but will no doubt be more aquianted with through the course of my studies. Advertising is cited as the main corporate activity on the internet, but it also happens to be an activity that is found in all areas of society. On a daily basis we are bombarded with television advertising, billboards, flyers and advertisements in papers, a lot of the power of advertising relies on its ability to infiltrate the subconscious. Privacy issues are probably greater in online contexts as mentioned as they many of the social networking tools are utilised as ways of finding out information which can then be used in an effective advertising or marketing campaign.
The "social" element of Social Media and Applications to a degree probably does effect whether people are guarded in their approach to online advertising. A lot of these applications encourage informal and regular interaction with friends and family, consequently to a certain degree marketers are in a prime position to inter into the realm of both the publicly performed self and the intimate as many of its users regular operate in both modes sometimes simultaneously. Approaches to online marketing differ to those found within traditional market place settings. The fact that these approaches differ to online marketing is interesting to note as it means that things like economy, power and corporations exist in a different framework so take on a new meaning. I agree with the perspective held by some that a lot of marketing tactics online, are tacky, inconsiderate of their audiences and invasive and I doubt whether these businesses in the long run will be as fruitful as those that are respectful and considerate of their audiences.
In my fairly narrow experience of having worked as a telemarketer and on email campaigns the main problem with e-mail campaigns is that barely anyone responds to an e-mail alone. I guess it depends on the product as well. As for facebook, myspace etc, sometimes the marketers do not give their audiences enough credit and I they have been described by some as being quite "Obnoxious", I myself have been irritated by their ads on more than one occasion. I think I'd be more likely to buy services on the net, like a trip to a day spa or holiday, but that was if I had a disposable income, I don't so it is unlikely that I would purchase anything asides from concert tickets or books occasionally. I am inclined to agree that facebook marketing works if your friend knows some one that makes or sells a unique product like hats, scarves, artworks etc, you are much more likely to want to buy them.
Is e-marketing is always a bad thing? I guess a significant social concern would be the distribution of wealth and whether or not marketing practices are ethical. Are there adequate bodies to oversee such activities?
Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation
How Power Operates on the Internet
"Power operates in many ways on the Internet, let's take one example, that of Internet access, to discuss power"
Okay here are some basic ideas/notes if you will. From the top of my head - (no references, entirely my opinion and I may actually change my position on some of these things at a later point in time.)
Firstly, I think power is often constructed in so far as how much access a person has to something desireable and its parameters can often be defined by things like limits to when, what (sites), how much, and where you are able access the Internet.
I think the most striking factors that influence limitations on internet access may include things that require monetary input such as hardware, internet plans, access to broadband, software, applications or net user groups that require a fee. There are also restrictions that are incurred based on users adherence to certain terms and conditions and the ability to read social norms and fit within a certain community culture. There will be groups who have more power base based on their level of technological literacy, value systems or skills base. Skills and knowledge become a basis for a economy as well as actual money, these allow users to access specific privileges and interact with elite societies or membership within those groups.
It is possible to transgress limits within a group by failing to comply with the groups terms and conditions and legal requirements, such as inappropriate use of pornography or a breach of a human rights issue. Outside of these standards that are usually found across the board, members can be ostracised for failing to accurately read and fit within cultural and social norms within a group. This can result in lack of access to that facility or item.
People may have quite elitist or specific values and may find ways of restricting your access or online participation through various means. Users are able to ostracise certain members because they fail to conform with the values inherent in that site and so can find ways of excluding them from “secret” activity that is more highly valued then regular net activity, such exclusion leads participants to have less knowledge and thus less literacy. They can form secret user groups for those who have more of a valuable commodity such as the factors that often contribute to class construction such as the appearance, financialThe Confession: A Novel
Monday, October 11, 2010
Health: What my Doctor didn’t tell me
So how useful is the internet in finding out more information about a diagnosis or managing an existing illness? Entering the search term Cancer immediatetly brings up a result from Wikipedia, which gives readers a comprehensive user generated summary of the disease. Google also lists The American Cancer Institute, these results are generally too broad and not local enough to consider as a useful site. When entering the search term Cancer Australia, the search brings up a more relevant list including Cancer Australia which is a government agency that provides the public with information on support and about the disease and the most reputable and well known Cancer charity, The Cancer Council. The list is followed by organisations that deal with more specific types of cancer such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.
I would narrow my selecion to include the sites that have easily accessible web 2.0 applications and social networking capacities such as twitter and facebook, so I can recieve regular updates in regards to developments or socia/supportl activities taking place and ones recomended by medical proffessionals and health authorities which for the large part has been the largest domain of information available on the internet to date. These are reffered to as intermediary sites, where medical middlemen offer to provide users with information. The Cancer Council and Cancer Australia websites are examples of these. These sites often offer the opportunity for its users to become part of a community and often encourage incoorporating usage of the site on a day to day basis. These are individualised according to the users requirements, thus providing a different and unique experience for all it’s users.
However, power is shiftting away from these intermediaries as the trend towards Apomediation increases. “Apomediation is a new socio-technological term that was coined to avoid the term “Web 2.0” in the scholarly debate [16,17]. It characterizes the “third way” for users to identify trustworthy and credible information and services.” (Eysenbach, 2008)
“for example shared bookmarking tools such as CiteULike, Connotea or WebCite, where people receive pointers to recently published relevant literature based on what others with a similar profile and interests have cited or bookmarked.”(Eysenbach, 2008)
Web 2.0 applications such as Google Health allow users to monitor and assess their progress and create health records, I find that outside of its ability to provide users with a way of monitoring their own health and creating records it doesn’t actually provide much information about the illness, although it gives an option to upload useful sites which you can refer to from this page.
I tried to create an account with Health Vault, again the application caters for users in the UK and America and I was unable to sign up with them.
The site Patients like me is specifically a social media application much like facebook, but designed specifically for networking with patients whom have the same disease.
Eysenbach, 2008, Medicine 2.0: Social Networking, Collaboration, Participation, Apomediation, and Openness http://www.jmir.org/2008/3/e22/
I would narrow my selecion to include the sites that have easily accessible web 2.0 applications and social networking capacities such as twitter and facebook, so I can recieve regular updates in regards to developments or socia/supportl activities taking place and ones recomended by medical proffessionals and health authorities which for the large part has been the largest domain of information available on the internet to date. These are reffered to as intermediary sites, where medical middlemen offer to provide users with information. The Cancer Council and Cancer Australia websites are examples of these. These sites often offer the opportunity for its users to become part of a community and often encourage incoorporating usage of the site on a day to day basis. These are individualised according to the users requirements, thus providing a different and unique experience for all it’s users.
However, power is shiftting away from these intermediaries as the trend towards Apomediation increases. “Apomediation is a new socio-technological term that was coined to avoid the term “Web 2.0” in the scholarly debate [16,17]. It characterizes the “third way” for users to identify trustworthy and credible information and services.” (Eysenbach, 2008)
“for example shared bookmarking tools such as CiteULike, Connotea or WebCite, where people receive pointers to recently published relevant literature based on what others with a similar profile and interests have cited or bookmarked.”(Eysenbach, 2008)
Web 2.0 applications such as Google Health allow users to monitor and assess their progress and create health records, I find that outside of its ability to provide users with a way of monitoring their own health and creating records it doesn’t actually provide much information about the illness, although it gives an option to upload useful sites which you can refer to from this page.
I tried to create an account with Health Vault, again the application caters for users in the UK and America and I was unable to sign up with them.
The site Patients like me is specifically a social media application much like facebook, but designed specifically for networking with patients whom have the same disease.
Eysenbach, 2008, Medicine 2.0: Social Networking, Collaboration, Participation, Apomediation, and Openness http://www.jmir.org/2008/3/e22/
Dating, Intimacy, Sexuality and Online Culture
The medium of New Media utilised to conduct Cyber Sex involves varying levels of intimacy and risk. There are many ways that people can engage in Cyber Sex, including, Skype, facbook, dating sites, dicussion forums and mobile phones, each involves their own code of agreed ethics between the two parties in order for both parties to remain engaged. Many of these involve negotiating power, for example there is often a requisite for mutual trust, or confidentiality. These vary according to the rules that both parties establish, either informally or formally much like a real relationship, the process involves negotiation.
The most significant factor determining whether a sexual encounter on the internet can be construed as cheating, depends on the boundaries and rules set within the existing relationship. How committed you are to the idea of a formal monogamous relationship would probably determine the likelihood of the participant to engage in flirting and cybersex in the first place, although in an open relationship these rules may vary and loyalty may be expressed in different forms. Is it cheating of your partner approves of you engaging in online flirting?
This process of negotiation and self disclosure is important as there is an aspect of permanency in interactions on the internet, there is a space on the net where written words or photographic material used in erotic situations are etched there permanently and can later mulled over, or used against the participant, the intimate can be made very public very quickly. In many cases the less formal a liason is on the internet, the more confidentiality is needed in order for particpation to be an equal distribution of power. Therefore means of concealing identity is important and illustrates why role play, sexual or otherwise is so popular on the internet.
Different mediums of communication involve different levels of control over the users identity , these are often determined via the medium chosen to enage in the activity. The identity projected by the user and the level of authenticy probably also
determines whether online behaviour can be construed as cheating. Furthermore, the way particpants choose to represent themselves again ties in to levels of trust and power. There is also the issue of the “real” identity, as opposed to the “cyber” indentity. In many sense sexual interactions over the internet are conducted with the particpants “cyber” identity andoften fantasy and role playing is a central part of the interaction.
The reality of online encounters is that it can be difficult to gage whether chemistry will manifest from web page to real life, so often many elements of the encounter will remain only appropriate online, they may not translate very well to real life situations. Which highlights one of the reasons why encounters online are often brief and varied, monogamy in the cyber realm is probably virtually impossible as participants are not able to to make choices based on tactile experiences.
The sex and dating industry is the most profitable industry on the internet. Due to the high demand of such services, Economy naturally ties into things like selection/identity and power.
Pascoes article describes how often sexual liasons in Cyber Space occur in sites which are not specifically designed for Cyber Sex, but there is often a process of being accepted into a community that memebers often have to undergo before courting or dating is considered acceptable amongst peers. There are also other niches and groups that cater to specific demographics according to age, sexual preferences and race.
The most significant factor determining whether a sexual encounter on the internet can be construed as cheating, depends on the boundaries and rules set within the existing relationship. How committed you are to the idea of a formal monogamous relationship would probably determine the likelihood of the participant to engage in flirting and cybersex in the first place, although in an open relationship these rules may vary and loyalty may be expressed in different forms. Is it cheating of your partner approves of you engaging in online flirting?
This process of negotiation and self disclosure is important as there is an aspect of permanency in interactions on the internet, there is a space on the net where written words or photographic material used in erotic situations are etched there permanently and can later mulled over, or used against the participant, the intimate can be made very public very quickly. In many cases the less formal a liason is on the internet, the more confidentiality is needed in order for particpation to be an equal distribution of power. Therefore means of concealing identity is important and illustrates why role play, sexual or otherwise is so popular on the internet.
Different mediums of communication involve different levels of control over the users identity , these are often determined via the medium chosen to enage in the activity. The identity projected by the user and the level of authenticy probably also
determines whether online behaviour can be construed as cheating. Furthermore, the way particpants choose to represent themselves again ties in to levels of trust and power. There is also the issue of the “real” identity, as opposed to the “cyber” indentity. In many sense sexual interactions over the internet are conducted with the particpants “cyber” identity andoften fantasy and role playing is a central part of the interaction.
The reality of online encounters is that it can be difficult to gage whether chemistry will manifest from web page to real life, so often many elements of the encounter will remain only appropriate online, they may not translate very well to real life situations. Which highlights one of the reasons why encounters online are often brief and varied, monogamy in the cyber realm is probably virtually impossible as participants are not able to to make choices based on tactile experiences.
The sex and dating industry is the most profitable industry on the internet. Due to the high demand of such services, Economy naturally ties into things like selection/identity and power.
Pascoes article describes how often sexual liasons in Cyber Space occur in sites which are not specifically designed for Cyber Sex, but there is often a process of being accepted into a community that memebers often have to undergo before courting or dating is considered acceptable amongst peers. There are also other niches and groups that cater to specific demographics according to age, sexual preferences and race.
Social Media, Web Technologies and The Political Process
Political processes such as election, policy, debate and media coverage are becoming increasingly dependent upon the use on Internet-mediated activities, so to are the outcomes of campaigning changing the democratic process. The dissemination of ideas and its communicators are now more varied and diverse and changing the way its citizens are engaging and responding to the political process.
Consumption of information and communication distribution in its various mediums has always had an important role in civilsation and everyday life. Accessibility to and the ability to engage in the dialogues found within these texts have largely been determined by factors such as literacy, education and class. Members from most demographics of Australian society are able to participate in an interactive political dialogue. In Australia, internet usage is comparably higher than most other countries with approximately 72% of Australian households having access to the internet and broadband was accessed by 62% of all households. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008-09) This trend is prevalent in first world nations.
Nagourney, (New York Times, 2009) explores how the Obama campaign illustrates the instantaneous nature of Information and communication and the continual stream of political stimuli, that can be accessed by voters and politicians and how political dialogue is becoming more accessible to the masses. “The changes go beyond what Mr. Obama did and reflect a cultural shift in voters, producing an audience that is at once better informed, more skeptical and, from reading blogs, sometimes trafficking in rumours or suspect information. As a result, this new electorate tends to be more questioning of what it is told by campaigns and often uses the Web to do its own fact-checking.”
Democracy in politics has changed, now a true democracy relies on technological literacy and access to a computer. Power is a knowledge based phenomena, with such high levels of technological accessibility and literacy in Australia, (NCSS, 2009) Politics is imbricated into the everyday experience of the internet by those who document, communicate and participate in its processes and forms these are largely driven by public intellectuals and journalists but act to encourage participation by all its citizens (Fellows, 2010) away from the traditional mainstream media and something new is emerging (Coombs, 2009) and it is having a siginificant effect on governance and the outcomes of election campaigns.
As mentioned by Mike Kent in the Net102: Politics and Participatory Culture lecture, (Kent, 2010) By utilising Social Media, users in one sense are able to gain more control over public perception and representation in the media as they are able to provide primary statements, make these available to their public and control their social identity to a greater degree and the technology is more accessible and affordable then regular media campaigns. During the Australian 2010 federal election, Twitter and facebook were actively used by both major parties and then neglected afterwards.It is interesting to note that whilst the major parties surely have a budget for continual engagement in these technologies it seems to be the domain of the smaller parties such as the Greens and campaigners such as GetUp (Coombs, A. 2009) who continue to have a strong day to day internet presence, often operating at a grass roots level, relying on community support. Similar movements in the major parties does not occur to the same degree as they tend not to engage one on one with their audiences the way these groups do (Kent, 2010)
This distance or lack of engagement by the major parties in Australia with this technology on a day to day basis may also have something to do with the way power is traditionally constructed, John Fiske, (1992) marks distance as an important signifier of high and low culture/stations or dialogue and asserts that such distance encourages reverence and respect for text separate from the mundanities of everyday life as there is no distancing in the culture of everyday life. So once this meet and greet stage is over, it's back to formalities, hard nosed policy making and debate. Whilst technology's promise of greater transparency and communication is alluring to audience members, it doesn't actually get the real job of running the country done.
Contrasting this perspective of power, it is interesting to note that both the Obama campaign 2008 (Nagourney, 2008) and the Greens through their affiliation with GetUp and one to one ground work via twitter accounts (Coombs, 2009, Herrick 2010) had a consistent internet presence and gained significantly much of their momentum from online campaigning (Coombs, 2008, Nagourney 2008) perhaps indicating a shift in the way power is constructed. The Greens, not having the same media resources as the main parties, meant that having a strong online presence was an important campaign strategy, enabling them to reach out to untapped audiences. Campaigners utilising ICT technologies in this way are able to in a sense humanise elections, provide audiences with familiarity and accessibility and make its members feel as though they are part of a democratic process.
The internet has given regular citizens the opportunity to engage in the election process more effectively and political bodies the power to control their image and engage with their public more readily. However, the internet possesses similar processes of construction of power and culture. The utilisation of ICT technology in political campaigning has meant that Politicians are no longer at the mercy of the political leanings of journalists as they are able to provide their own articles, blogs and media releases, often instantaneously. The success of the Greens campaign and GetUp, in 2010, illustrates how official election coverage, held by mainstream media providers is becoming less centralised as the cost of producing, distributing multimedia messages via internet is becoming more affordable way of reaching the masses. The shift away from this type of monopolisation of information has forced the established television and print media to rethink their role and now there is clear interaction between television and Web 2.0 or ICT technologies. Traditionally these avenues of mass communication production available to an elite few, are now available to smaller groups and institutions previously underrepresented in the media.
References
Berger, A. (1995) Cultural Criticisms, A Primer of Key Concepts, Foundations of Popular Culture,Volume 4,
Adams, D. (2010) The twitter election. Or is it? ZDNet – Software – News
http://www.zdnet.com.au/the-twitter-election-or-is-it-339304662.htm Accessed 03/10/2010
Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2008-2009) (Retrieved 3rd October. 2010) 8146.0 -
Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0
Coombs, A (2009), How Cyber-Activism Changed the World,
From Griffith REVIEW Edition 24: Participation Society, Griffith University & the author.
Fellows, D. (2010), Could Twitter of Changed the Election, Now U See, from
http://www.nowuc.com.au/2010/10/09/could-twitter-have-changed-the-election
Fiske, J. (1992). Cultural Studies and the Culture of Everyday Life. In Lawrence Grossberg, Cary Nelson, & Paula A Treichler (Eds.), Cultural Studies (pp. 154-173). New York: Routlede.
Flew, T. (2007). Not Yet the Internet Election: Online Media, Political Commentary and the 2007 Australian Federal Election. Media International Australia. 126.5-13. In
Herrick, C. (02/098/2010) Federal Election 2010, The Australian Greens Social Networking Strategy from http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/355348/federal_election_2010_australian_
greens_social_networking_strategy/
Kent, M, (2010). Net102: Politics and Participatory Culture lecture, Curtin University ilecture
Media Literacy, (2009) (Retrieved 5th October, 2010) A Position Statement of National Council for the Social Studies, from http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/medialiteracy
Nagourney, A. (November 4, 2008), The ‘08 Campaign: Sea Change for Politics as We Know It, New York Times, 2009-01-19.
Consumption of information and communication distribution in its various mediums has always had an important role in civilsation and everyday life. Accessibility to and the ability to engage in the dialogues found within these texts have largely been determined by factors such as literacy, education and class. Members from most demographics of Australian society are able to participate in an interactive political dialogue. In Australia, internet usage is comparably higher than most other countries with approximately 72% of Australian households having access to the internet and broadband was accessed by 62% of all households. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008-09) This trend is prevalent in first world nations.
Nagourney, (New York Times, 2009) explores how the Obama campaign illustrates the instantaneous nature of Information and communication and the continual stream of political stimuli, that can be accessed by voters and politicians and how political dialogue is becoming more accessible to the masses. “The changes go beyond what Mr. Obama did and reflect a cultural shift in voters, producing an audience that is at once better informed, more skeptical and, from reading blogs, sometimes trafficking in rumours or suspect information. As a result, this new electorate tends to be more questioning of what it is told by campaigns and often uses the Web to do its own fact-checking.”
Democracy in politics has changed, now a true democracy relies on technological literacy and access to a computer. Power is a knowledge based phenomena, with such high levels of technological accessibility and literacy in Australia, (NCSS, 2009) Politics is imbricated into the everyday experience of the internet by those who document, communicate and participate in its processes and forms these are largely driven by public intellectuals and journalists but act to encourage participation by all its citizens (Fellows, 2010) away from the traditional mainstream media and something new is emerging (Coombs, 2009) and it is having a siginificant effect on governance and the outcomes of election campaigns.
As mentioned by Mike Kent in the Net102: Politics and Participatory Culture lecture, (Kent, 2010) By utilising Social Media, users in one sense are able to gain more control over public perception and representation in the media as they are able to provide primary statements, make these available to their public and control their social identity to a greater degree and the technology is more accessible and affordable then regular media campaigns. During the Australian 2010 federal election, Twitter and facebook were actively used by both major parties and then neglected afterwards.It is interesting to note that whilst the major parties surely have a budget for continual engagement in these technologies it seems to be the domain of the smaller parties such as the Greens and campaigners such as GetUp (Coombs, A. 2009) who continue to have a strong day to day internet presence, often operating at a grass roots level, relying on community support. Similar movements in the major parties does not occur to the same degree as they tend not to engage one on one with their audiences the way these groups do (Kent, 2010)
This distance or lack of engagement by the major parties in Australia with this technology on a day to day basis may also have something to do with the way power is traditionally constructed, John Fiske, (1992) marks distance as an important signifier of high and low culture/stations or dialogue and asserts that such distance encourages reverence and respect for text separate from the mundanities of everyday life as there is no distancing in the culture of everyday life. So once this meet and greet stage is over, it's back to formalities, hard nosed policy making and debate. Whilst technology's promise of greater transparency and communication is alluring to audience members, it doesn't actually get the real job of running the country done.
Contrasting this perspective of power, it is interesting to note that both the Obama campaign 2008 (Nagourney, 2008) and the Greens through their affiliation with GetUp and one to one ground work via twitter accounts (Coombs, 2009, Herrick 2010) had a consistent internet presence and gained significantly much of their momentum from online campaigning (Coombs, 2008, Nagourney 2008) perhaps indicating a shift in the way power is constructed. The Greens, not having the same media resources as the main parties, meant that having a strong online presence was an important campaign strategy, enabling them to reach out to untapped audiences. Campaigners utilising ICT technologies in this way are able to in a sense humanise elections, provide audiences with familiarity and accessibility and make its members feel as though they are part of a democratic process.
The internet has given regular citizens the opportunity to engage in the election process more effectively and political bodies the power to control their image and engage with their public more readily. However, the internet possesses similar processes of construction of power and culture. The utilisation of ICT technology in political campaigning has meant that Politicians are no longer at the mercy of the political leanings of journalists as they are able to provide their own articles, blogs and media releases, often instantaneously. The success of the Greens campaign and GetUp, in 2010, illustrates how official election coverage, held by mainstream media providers is becoming less centralised as the cost of producing, distributing multimedia messages via internet is becoming more affordable way of reaching the masses. The shift away from this type of monopolisation of information has forced the established television and print media to rethink their role and now there is clear interaction between television and Web 2.0 or ICT technologies. Traditionally these avenues of mass communication production available to an elite few, are now available to smaller groups and institutions previously underrepresented in the media.
References
Berger, A. (1995) Cultural Criticisms, A Primer of Key Concepts, Foundations of Popular Culture,Volume 4,
Adams, D. (2010) The twitter election. Or is it? ZDNet – Software – News
http://www.zdnet.com.au/the-twitter-election-or-is-it-339304662.htm Accessed 03/10/2010
Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2008-2009) (Retrieved 3rd October. 2010) 8146.0 -
Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0
Coombs, A (2009), How Cyber-Activism Changed the World,
From Griffith REVIEW Edition 24: Participation Society, Griffith University & the author.
Fellows, D. (2010), Could Twitter of Changed the Election, Now U See, from
http://www.nowuc.com.au/2010/10/09/could-twitter-have-changed-the-election
Fiske, J. (1992). Cultural Studies and the Culture of Everyday Life. In Lawrence Grossberg, Cary Nelson, & Paula A Treichler (Eds.), Cultural Studies (pp. 154-173). New York: Routlede.
Flew, T. (2007). Not Yet the Internet Election: Online Media, Political Commentary and the 2007 Australian Federal Election. Media International Australia. 126.5-13. In
Herrick, C. (02/098/2010) Federal Election 2010, The Australian Greens Social Networking Strategy from http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/355348/federal_election_2010_australian_
greens_social_networking_strategy/
Kent, M, (2010). Net102: Politics and Participatory Culture lecture, Curtin University ilecture
Media Literacy, (2009) (Retrieved 5th October, 2010) A Position Statement of National Council for the Social Studies, from http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/medialiteracy
Nagourney, A. (November 4, 2008), The ‘08 Campaign: Sea Change for Politics as We Know It, New York Times, 2009-01-19.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
NET102 Topic 1.1 Music: I want my MP3
Grooveshark Review
Grooveshark is a free music site/music player and musical community that allows listeners access to millions of tracks. Spanning more than seven genres of music, it operates by simply entering the name of the track or artist into a search engine and then selecting your favourites, adding them to a playlist. One of the most impressive features of Grooveshark is the size of it’s musical catalogue, the content is upgraded and provided by users of Grooveshark.
Multiple playlists can be created and tracks can be saved to these playlist’s by clicking on the save button at the bottom left hand corner of the page. The sites radio streaming function is predictive, when streaming radio, you are able to select a preferred genre and the radio will select songs accordingly, or alternatively it will base its selections on your existing playlists, this can be an exciting way of finding new music. However, this function is limited as it tended to focus on suggesting artists that were already featured in the playlist catalogue. A created catalogue or playlist can be searched in the Music Profile section of the page by entering the name of the artist, album etc. This feature is a little faulty as the last column squashes all the data so that it’s ineligible.
The site loads up tracks faster then Last.fm, but is counter intuitive in some ways, often instead of playing it instantly, it will simply move to the bottom of the page and collect it for you in case you want to play it at a later time, which is a good option to have, but not always what you intended to do. The other problem with the program is that it is very easy to click on the same track twice so that you have few copies of the same song on your play list below. Within your music profile you are able to play songs from your list of favourites or according to artist or date, you are also able to search your page by entering the song you wish to retrieve by typing the name into the Search in Page feature.
The site encourages social interaction with other members, you are able to share your favourite tunes, rate recommended tunes and become a fan of your fellow Grooveshark members. Unlike Last.fm the site was not able to recommend other members as friends based on shared musical interests. However the site internationally accessible and allows users to translate the pages in five different languages. The profile function allows you to view your music play lists, your recent grooveshark activity, upload a photo to personalise your profile and you are able to view your music profile. You can check the activity, who’s following you, fans of your music and users that have been recently active.
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/user/jasminsara/5401521
Grooveshark is a free music site/music player and musical community that allows listeners access to millions of tracks. Spanning more than seven genres of music, it operates by simply entering the name of the track or artist into a search engine and then selecting your favourites, adding them to a playlist. One of the most impressive features of Grooveshark is the size of it’s musical catalogue, the content is upgraded and provided by users of Grooveshark.
Multiple playlists can be created and tracks can be saved to these playlist’s by clicking on the save button at the bottom left hand corner of the page. The sites radio streaming function is predictive, when streaming radio, you are able to select a preferred genre and the radio will select songs accordingly, or alternatively it will base its selections on your existing playlists, this can be an exciting way of finding new music. However, this function is limited as it tended to focus on suggesting artists that were already featured in the playlist catalogue. A created catalogue or playlist can be searched in the Music Profile section of the page by entering the name of the artist, album etc. This feature is a little faulty as the last column squashes all the data so that it’s ineligible.
The site loads up tracks faster then Last.fm, but is counter intuitive in some ways, often instead of playing it instantly, it will simply move to the bottom of the page and collect it for you in case you want to play it at a later time, which is a good option to have, but not always what you intended to do. The other problem with the program is that it is very easy to click on the same track twice so that you have few copies of the same song on your play list below. Within your music profile you are able to play songs from your list of favourites or according to artist or date, you are also able to search your page by entering the song you wish to retrieve by typing the name into the Search in Page feature.
The site encourages social interaction with other members, you are able to share your favourite tunes, rate recommended tunes and become a fan of your fellow Grooveshark members. Unlike Last.fm the site was not able to recommend other members as friends based on shared musical interests. However the site internationally accessible and allows users to translate the pages in five different languages. The profile function allows you to view your music play lists, your recent grooveshark activity, upload a photo to personalise your profile and you are able to view your music profile. You can check the activity, who’s following you, fans of your music and users that have been recently active.
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/user/jasminsara/5401521
Monday, September 13, 2010
1.1.3 Internet Timeline
NED11 The article Tim Berners-Lee's answers to Frequently asked questions by the Press, documents several important milestones that are not mentioned in Hobbes Timeline, despite this the article makes reference to many important milestones made in the development of the World Wide Web. The following are the 5 that I identified as being the most significant:
1. 1991: World Wide Web is released by CERN; Tim Berners-Lee developer (;pb1:). First Web server is nxoc01.cern.ch, launched in Nov 1990 and later renamed info.cern.ch.
2. 1993: Mosaic takes the internet by storm (22 Apr); WWW proliferates at a 341, 634% annual growth rate of service traffic. Gophers growth is 997%
3. 1994: WWW edges out telnet to become 2nd most popular service on the Net (behind ftp-data) based on % of packets and bytes traffic distribution on NSFNET
4. 1996: WWW browser war, fought primarily between Netscape and Microsoft, has rushed a new age in software development, whereby new releases are made quartley with the help of internet uss eager to test upcoming (beta) versions
5. 2008: Google’s crawler reaches 1 trillion pages, although only a fraction are indexed by the search engine. For comparison, Google’s original index had 26 million pages in 1998, and reached 1 billion in 2000.
http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/
1. 1991: World Wide Web is released by CERN; Tim Berners-Lee developer (;pb1:). First Web server is nxoc01.cern.ch, launched in Nov 1990 and later renamed info.cern.ch.
2. 1993: Mosaic takes the internet by storm (22 Apr); WWW proliferates at a 341, 634% annual growth rate of service traffic. Gophers growth is 997%
3. 1994: WWW edges out telnet to become 2nd most popular service on the Net (behind ftp-data) based on % of packets and bytes traffic distribution on NSFNET
4. 1996: WWW browser war, fought primarily between Netscape and Microsoft, has rushed a new age in software development, whereby new releases are made quartley with the help of internet uss eager to test upcoming (beta) versions
5. 2008: Google’s crawler reaches 1 trillion pages, although only a fraction are indexed by the search engine. For comparison, Google’s original index had 26 million pages in 1998, and reached 1 billion in 2000.
http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/
Tim Berners Lee - Answers to Frequently Asked Questions by The Press
NED11: Module 1.1.2
Tim Berners- Lee’s answers to frequently asked questions
1. What role did Tim Berners-Lee play in the development of the internet.?
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, which today is an integral part of the internet as we know it. The World Wide Web is an information system linking information from computer to computer through a series of hyperlinks. He describes the web as a “Global hypertext system”. The Web was simply combining existing technological ideas such as hypertext, (1982) Transmission Control CP and DNS (Domain Name System). The first Web browser was written in 1990, it was called The World Wide Web, and later renamed Nexus, to differentiate between the web browser as an application and the actual space that is the World Wide Web.
Berners Lee also:
* Wrote hypertext markup language or HTML, designed to be the universal language of Web pages, readable by all computers.
* Wrote a web browser called World Wide Web, which could view documents written in html, to avoid confusion this was later changed to Nexus.
* Created a Web server
* Designed Universal Resource Identifier now known as a URL, which is the address of a website.
He performed other functions relating to its development and regulation and started an organisation known as the W3C, which outlines web standards and contributed to the development of the Semantic Web - “The Web Machine of processable data”. “The Semantic Web is a Web of data — of dates and titles and part numbers and chemical properties and any other data one might conceive of. RDF provides the foundation for publishing and linking your data. Various technologies allow you to embed data in documents (RDFa, GRDDL) or expose what you have in SQL databases, or make it available as RDF files.” (W3C website)
“The goal of the Semantic Web initiative is as broad as that of the Web: to create a universal medium for the exchange of data. It is envisaged to smoothly interconnect personal information management, enterprise application integration, and the global sharing of commercial, scientific and cultural data. Facilities to put machine-understandable data on the Web are quickly becoming a high priority for many organizations, individuals and communities.
(W3C Society and Technology Domain)
2. In this unit you will be working with XHTML scripting language. What scripting languages did did Tim Berners-Lee discuss back in 2000, do you feel his comments are still relevant today? What evidence can you find to support your view?
XML: Extensible Markup Language.
Wikipedia describes XML as “Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification[4] produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards.[5]”
RDF: Resource Description Framework
“RDF is a standard model for data interchange on the Web. RDF has features that facilitate data merging even if the underlying schemas differ, and it specifically supports the evolution of schemas over time without requiring all the data consumers to be changed.” (W3C)
SVG: Scalable Vector Graphics are the script languages
“SVG is a markup language for describing two-dimensional graphics applications and images, and a set of related graphics script interfaces.” (W3C http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/)”
I don't understand much about these three languages, but they are still mentioned and seem to be relevant today, they are different from XHTML, in that XHTML is a general language used, these three languages perform certain functions within a XHTML document. My thoughts are that XML, is the language used to encode documents so that they can be read by machines. RDF is still important as it performs the functions of translating data and getting the data to work together even though different languages are used. SVG is different to XHTML as it is a language that exists within XHTML to describe specifically two-dimensional images. My knowledge of this area is limited at this stage. Consider this response a work in progress.
3. Tim Berners-Lee discusses the world's very first web page. Visit the site and write your observations on the following: In what ways do you feel Web Design has changed over the years, not just in visual design, but hyperlinks? Why do you think this page is so simple? What scripting language did it use? View the source of this page and tell us how many tags you can find in the code.
http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
Could not follow link to page.
4. What is the W3C, do they care about “standards”?
They create standards for the World Wide Web. The definition provided on the W3C website is “The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community that develops standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web.” It is designed to be a neutral forum which identifies and creates common specifications and guidelines in the areas of Web and software development, to ensure that transferring information between computers, or operating systems is possible. This idea is one of the basic principles of the World Wide Web, Tim-Berners efforts have made the internet more accessible to the masses. His hope was that everyone who used the internet would participate in its design and that it would be a highly interactive community and he attempted to accomplish this by creating universal language or standards such as html. He identifies three of the most intrinsic specifications in the rapid development and facilitation of the World Wide Web are "HTTP, URL and HTML.
5. If Tim Berners-Lee could roll back the clock and re-design URL’s, how would we type in the address for Curtin University’s Admissions Office now at http://students.curtin.edu.au/administration/admissions/ Why would he do this?
Berners-Lee, would have written the address so that the http:edu.au/students.curtin/administration/admissions, he thought it was logical for users to realise that www.curtin.edu was the domain name attached to the addresses.
6. According to Tim Berners-Lee who invented the GUI (Graphical User Interface) browser?Name 5 different Web browsers. Which ones do you think are the most popular today?
Tim Berners Lee states that he invented the Graphical User Interface browser in 1990 it was called the World Wide Web and later changed to Nexus in order to differentiate between the application that allowed you to search the World Wide Web and the actual World Wide Web.
5 differrent web browsers that are used today include:
1. Firefox
2 Explorer
3. Chrome
4. Safari
5. Opera
These are listed at http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
7. Name the first three World Wide Web colours, in order of appearance.
I could not find information about the first three colours used on the World Wide Web. I found information about the use of Bergers default use of underline, green for links and then dark blue.
Ref: http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/FAQ.html
Tim Berners- Lee’s answers to frequently asked questions
1. What role did Tim Berners-Lee play in the development of the internet.?
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, which today is an integral part of the internet as we know it. The World Wide Web is an information system linking information from computer to computer through a series of hyperlinks. He describes the web as a “Global hypertext system”. The Web was simply combining existing technological ideas such as hypertext, (1982) Transmission Control CP and DNS (Domain Name System). The first Web browser was written in 1990, it was called The World Wide Web, and later renamed Nexus, to differentiate between the web browser as an application and the actual space that is the World Wide Web.
Berners Lee also:
* Wrote hypertext markup language or HTML, designed to be the universal language of Web pages, readable by all computers.
* Wrote a web browser called World Wide Web, which could view documents written in html, to avoid confusion this was later changed to Nexus.
* Created a Web server
* Designed Universal Resource Identifier now known as a URL, which is the address of a website.
He performed other functions relating to its development and regulation and started an organisation known as the W3C, which outlines web standards and contributed to the development of the Semantic Web - “The Web Machine of processable data”. “The Semantic Web is a Web of data — of dates and titles and part numbers and chemical properties and any other data one might conceive of. RDF provides the foundation for publishing and linking your data. Various technologies allow you to embed data in documents (RDFa, GRDDL) or expose what you have in SQL databases, or make it available as RDF files.” (W3C website)
“The goal of the Semantic Web initiative is as broad as that of the Web: to create a universal medium for the exchange of data. It is envisaged to smoothly interconnect personal information management, enterprise application integration, and the global sharing of commercial, scientific and cultural data. Facilities to put machine-understandable data on the Web are quickly becoming a high priority for many organizations, individuals and communities.
(W3C Society and Technology Domain)
2. In this unit you will be working with XHTML scripting language. What scripting languages did did Tim Berners-Lee discuss back in 2000, do you feel his comments are still relevant today? What evidence can you find to support your view?
XML: Extensible Markup Language.
Wikipedia describes XML as “Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification[4] produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards.[5]”
RDF: Resource Description Framework
“RDF is a standard model for data interchange on the Web. RDF has features that facilitate data merging even if the underlying schemas differ, and it specifically supports the evolution of schemas over time without requiring all the data consumers to be changed.” (W3C)
SVG: Scalable Vector Graphics are the script languages
“SVG is a markup language for describing two-dimensional graphics applications and images, and a set of related graphics script interfaces.” (W3C http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/)”
I don't understand much about these three languages, but they are still mentioned and seem to be relevant today, they are different from XHTML, in that XHTML is a general language used, these three languages perform certain functions within a XHTML document. My thoughts are that XML, is the language used to encode documents so that they can be read by machines. RDF is still important as it performs the functions of translating data and getting the data to work together even though different languages are used. SVG is different to XHTML as it is a language that exists within XHTML to describe specifically two-dimensional images. My knowledge of this area is limited at this stage. Consider this response a work in progress.
3. Tim Berners-Lee discusses the world's very first web page. Visit the site and write your observations on the following: In what ways do you feel Web Design has changed over the years, not just in visual design, but hyperlinks? Why do you think this page is so simple? What scripting language did it use? View the source of this page and tell us how many tags you can find in the code.
http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
Could not follow link to page.
4. What is the W3C, do they care about “standards”?
They create standards for the World Wide Web. The definition provided on the W3C website is “The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community that develops standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web.” It is designed to be a neutral forum which identifies and creates common specifications and guidelines in the areas of Web and software development, to ensure that transferring information between computers, or operating systems is possible. This idea is one of the basic principles of the World Wide Web, Tim-Berners efforts have made the internet more accessible to the masses. His hope was that everyone who used the internet would participate in its design and that it would be a highly interactive community and he attempted to accomplish this by creating universal language or standards such as html. He identifies three of the most intrinsic specifications in the rapid development and facilitation of the World Wide Web are "HTTP, URL and HTML.
5. If Tim Berners-Lee could roll back the clock and re-design URL’s, how would we type in the address for Curtin University’s Admissions Office now at http://students.curtin.edu.au/administration/admissions/ Why would he do this?
Berners-Lee, would have written the address so that the http:edu.au/students.curtin/administration/admissions, he thought it was logical for users to realise that www.curtin.edu was the domain name attached to the addresses.
6. According to Tim Berners-Lee who invented the GUI (Graphical User Interface) browser?Name 5 different Web browsers. Which ones do you think are the most popular today?
Tim Berners Lee states that he invented the Graphical User Interface browser in 1990 it was called the World Wide Web and later changed to Nexus in order to differentiate between the application that allowed you to search the World Wide Web and the actual World Wide Web.
5 differrent web browsers that are used today include:
1. Firefox
2 Explorer
3. Chrome
4. Safari
5. Opera
These are listed at http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
7. Name the first three World Wide Web colours, in order of appearance.
I could not find information about the first three colours used on the World Wide Web. I found information about the use of Bergers default use of underline, green for links and then dark blue.
Ref: http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/FAQ.html
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