The McDonaldtron

OK, so has anyone seen Back to the Future II? Replacing its original four-wheeled predecessor, Marty rides through the sky on a flying skateboard. This movie experience, as outlandish as it may have seemed in the 1990’s when it was released, acts as a metaphor for my perception of what the future of social media may entail; expect the unexpected. I think we are all in store for a ride upon a technological rollercoaster. With each acute turn, accompanied by sky-high climbs and gut-wrenching descents, within the next five years we are going to be engulfed by the Internet, as social networking makes its move from a tool for socialization, to a key necessity for our being. Yes, this may appear to be a steep (no pun intended I assure you; perhaps I am too eager to visit an amusement park?) and confronting theory, but there is strong evidence, peppered across the World Wide Web in particular, which supports this notion.

I am particularly interested in the social networking site, Couch Surfing, which serves as a prime example of how social networking is steering in the direction of providing users with an experience extending further than keeping in touch with friends. I recently spent a weekend in Montreal and organized my accommodation through Couch Surfing; my friend and I, after joining this online community, were able to crash on a fellow “surfer’s” couch, free of charge. In exchange, we are now obligated to allow fellow couch surfers to spend a night in each of our houses. What this example epitomizes is that groups formed on the Internet encourage communal based activity, as well as national and international relations. This idea coincides with the fact that businesses and government institutions have entered the social media amusement park, promoting their products online through social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter. Volkswagen implemented this strategy via Facebook in an attempt to inform both current and future customers of the latest news regarding Volkswagen cars and accessories. This Facebook account also acts as a forum for people to exchange knowledge and information and allows Volkswagen to accumulate an audience to advertise towards.

We are already seeing the emergence of businesses into the social media arena, so what will happen within the next five years? Mobile phones play a fundamental role in the identification of the unrelenting growth of technology. When I was younger, my Dad owned a “top of the range” Motorola mobile phone; if you smeared this archaic slab of plastic with cement, it could definitely pass off as a sturdy brick. Contemporary society has introduced mobile phones that play music, take photographs, record videos and can access the Internet. Whenever I log into my Facebook account, I take particular notice to those status updates that have been sent from mobile phones devices. With the recent boom of phones that are designed for the tech-savvy user, people are communicating more widely through both the Internet and telecommunications. We are advertised through our social networking accounts and various businesses are producing social networking accounts in order to ascertain wider target markets. In addition, companies have employed social media is a way of “researching” job applicants. When combining all of these ideas and thinking about the future of social media, it is perceivable that technology as it develops at such a rapid rate, will act as a driving force, pushing companies online to fight for the business of users. Perhaps, in five years time, social media applications like Farmville (I never really understood the necessity to engage in Farmville- each to their own) could be replaced by online banking, shopping and dating. Any user, anywhere in the world could access these applications either through a computer or while they’re out and about via their mobile phone. To even exaggerate this idea, a new device may even be created to replace mobile communication. Let’s call it the “McDonaldtron”; a pocket size gadget that is designed to only be used for Internet access, and in particular, social networking. It would look something like a hand-held computer that cancels out the need for a mobile phone; if everyone in the world was hooked up to a Web 2.0 application like Facebook, why would we need mobile telephones? We may be flying hover-boards yet, my fellow bloggers; just give it a couple more years.

Over analyzing in the USA

Upon landing and departing the plane, an intoxicating smell of donuts and sugar, hit me as hard as the humidity accompanying it. As I allowed my nose to experience the sweet sensation of the Krispy Krème flavored air, my stomach issued a grumbling sound that I was sure all of my fellow travelers could hear.

Traveling from a country that was experiencing winter and cooler weather conditions, my eyes initially found it difficult to adjust to the exposure of the summer sun. As a result of this, I squinted and took notice of the dry, bland colors of the unfamiliar place I had just arrived in; a myriad of brown, orange, yellow and grey shades poured over the city. The dry, humid weather placed itself heavily on my shoulders; my lungs felt weighed down as I attempted to breathe in the thick, sticky air. Despite wearing polarized sunglasses, the sun’s rays penetrated my vision, causing me to find solace in each blink my eyes took.

In an attempt to relieve myself from the heat and clamminess, I jumped into the first available taxi at the airport. My hospitable chauffeur, trying to score a bonus on the tip I was already obliged to give him, initiated small-talk; he spoke slowly, his jargon baffled me. We spoke the same language, yet his colloquialisms caused me to lose myself in phrases like, “word”, “silverware” and “cool and the gang.”

Arriving at the airport hotel, I hopped out of the taxi and could taste the city smog in my mouth. A combination of the previous sugary scent, cigarettes and trash overwhelmed me. As I entered the reception area and began the “checking in” process, I was handed a complimentary green apple. As I wrapped my mouth around this piece of fruit, I was disappointed to not feel the skin of the apple crush beneath my teeth; instead, it softly disintegrated, leaving a powdery texture in my mouth. I had finally arrived in New York City and, honestly, I could not have been more excited.

I can only watch as my time on this continent is being vacuumed at such a hasty speed. Initially, I had experienced culture shock; the American stereotypes I had seen on Australian television were amplified and I found it difficult to keep up with the fast-pace of this country. While skimming through the uploaded photos of my travels so far, homesickness subsides and my love for traveling, like an incessant vine, wraps and encapsulates me, right down to my worn-out Doc Martens.

The Politics of the Plain Style

“Plain style: nothing beats it as a vehicle for profitable lies, which can entertain people and may even do them good in other ways.”

Earlier this week, I was assigned the task of summarizing a chapter from the book “Journalism: the Democratic Craft” titled “The Politics of the Plain Style”, by Hugh Kenner. I wasn’t aware that this particular snippet of text would pluck such a heartstring within my writer’s heart.

This chapter provided insight into the mind of a doctor of literary modernism who asserted that journalism was characterized by the plain style; a term describing writing that is simple, direct, and unambiguous. Kenner critiqued this employment of journalistic writing as he idealized that reporters write in this fashion to attract trust within their audience and to attain “a trusted artifice.” Upon reading and reflecting on this notion, I became overwhelmed with a rush of self-directed questions. As the interrogation continued, one question persisted to resurface; why do I want to become a part of an industry that persuades rather than informs the public of information?

While studying Advanced English at high school, my class covered a topic titled “Telling the Truth” which exemplified the distortion of the truth by the media. This module covered issues surrounding sensationalism and was reinforced by the Australian television series “Frontline”; a satirical parody based on the day-to-day operations of a news station. At the completion of studying this topic, my view of the media and investigative journalism had become drastically cynical; what version of the news could I trust?

So, hypocritically, I enrolled in a Bachelor of Communication with a major in journalism at the University of Newcastle, Australia. My fervor for writing combated the negative stigma I had attached to the media industry; I assumed that ascertaining a degree in journalism could assist me in becoming a recognized, paid writer. Also, the idea of becoming a distinguished journalist within the public eye, although a farfetched dream, was a rather enticing thought.

Nearing the end of a journalism degree, I have reached Frost’s two roads, yet I am left in a state of contemplation; having an awareness of the negative impact the media can bestow upon society, did I really think I could make a difference? Could I live up to the names of Murrow, Woodward, Burnstein and Guerin- journalists who fought for and championed the exposure of the truth, disguised by the lies of high-powered organizations? Although, Guerin literally sacrificed her life for the pursuit of the truth and democracy, I don’t think tertiary studies could prepare any person for that.

Perhaps I should just stick to writing critical essays.

Going Backwards

After three days of shooting, seven hours of editing and bombarding Brian with a copious amount of questions, I have finally produced and compressed a video suited for the World Wide Web. Now, my video can be viewed at both Youtube and Blip.tv. This video, titled "Going Backwards", attempts to encapsulate the confusion and confrontation that I experienced upon arriving in Buffalo from Australia. Initially, I felt as though everything was backwards, foreign and unfamiliar. I was prepared to enter a new country and understood that difficulties may lie ahead, but as I traveled alone, I felt slightly confronted at the smallest of cultural differences. My friend and roommate, Kathrina, who is featured within this video also endured a touch of culture shock as she is also on exchange, although she is from New Mexico.

Now, within the interview of my video, you may have noticed that Kathrina spoke of coming from the "Land of Enchantment." I would like to emphasize the contexuality behind this phrase; this is a term that has been associated with the state of New Mexico.

In addition, the inspiration for this video lies within the notion time relativity; Australia is 15 hours ahead of the US. Drawing on this difference in time as an idea for my project, I reflected on the day I left Sydney, Australia for Buffalo; I left at 2pm on a Friday afternoon and arrived in Los Angeles at 10:30am on the same Friday morning. How bizarre!

Further, the resolution to this video highlights two people walking together in a backwards world; this symbolizes that I am not the only one who, at times, may feel slightly disorientated or homesick, despite the amazing journey one is embarking on.

Moreover, I found a very useful and helpful web tutorial that assisted me immensely in compressing my video for the web. This tutorial (running at a beginner's pace) takes you through, step-by-step, the process of compressing your movie/ video footage for users of the Final Cut Pro editing program.

What is a wiki?

After reading through the list of tasks due for this week, I was both interested and a little daunted. The whole idea of actually creating a wiki (which I was totally unfamiliar with) with a partner, who I had not ever met, definitely was overwhelming. Although, the readings provided on ANGEL were useful tools in ascertaining an idea of what a wiki is and the strengths and limitations it bestows. Additionally, through utilizing Web 2.0 applications and mobile communication, my partner and I for this task managed to work together to overcome the challenges involved in both creating and managing a wiki thread.

Pattarawan and Wagner’s article, “The role of Wiki Technology and Altruism in Collaborative Knowledge Creation”, was particularly helpful in defining and explaining what a wiki is. The definition that I found which provided the most insight was that the modern and innovative form of wiki technology acts as a space where “people can update content of open, shared web-based documents, without individual ownership of the content” (p.33). Moreover, this article simplifies this definition by emphasizing that a wiki “is a set of linked web pages, created through the incremental development by a group of collaborating users, as well as the software used to manage, manipulate and publish web pages” (p.34). A key characteristic of wiki technology is the notion of collective authorship, as Wiki allows for web documents to “be authored collectively without individual ownership of documents” (Pattarawan & Wagner, 2009, p. 34). Differentiating from blogging, which involves adding new contributions to existing ones, “wiki contributions are integrated into the existing body of knowledge” (Pattarawan & Wagner, 2009, p.34). More importantly, this article exemplifies the example of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, as a form of wiki technology that does not have any financial rewards for writing an article.

After ascertaining a relatively firm grasp of the concept of wiki technology, the next challenge was to introduce myself to my partner for the group assignment. Hollie and I contacted each other through text messages, phone calls, emails, as well as blog comments and Facebook. The use of the Web 2.0 applications in particular allowed us to organize a place to meet so that we could decide on a subject to focus on. We discussed the interests we had in common (face-to-face) and were able to identify that we shared a passion for fashion, yet both agreed that pursuing this interest can be difficult at times due to the limited income of a college student. We then decided to create our wiki thread based on this topic and adding it to the BufWiki website. Due to the direction we were taking with our wiki (which is titled “Shopping on a Budget”), we utilized BufWiki as a platform for providing locals, college students in particular, with information that can assist in keeping up with the latest trends in an affordable way. The picture featured below is of Half and Half Clothing; a clothing store we featured in our thread.

After each of us conducted research into our subject, which included taking photographs, as well as comparing different boutiques and shops on the basis of rates and stock, Hollie and I pieced together our wiki thread, including links and pictures relating to some great ways for bargain hunting in Buffalo. In addition, we utilized Photoshop to resize our photographs so that they were appropriate for the web. Although, when Hollie was updating our wiki thread, our page became blocked. After emailing and corresponding with the person who put a hold on our page (which was apparently to stop others from adding, editing or contributing to our work), the lock was released. This particular hiccup reflects one of the articles we had to read for this week, as it uses Wikipedia as an example to highlight that only certain content can be published on this partuicular website (Pattarawan & Wagner, 2009, p. 34). Wikipedia has been depicted as the most successful encyclopedia based on its size, growth and usage (Pattarawan & Wagner, 2009, p. 34). This is largely a result of the collaboration model supplemented into Wikipedia, as people can contribute to any subject on this website. Although, similar to the challenge that we faced when our page became locked, users need to be wary of what they post on these websites, as the content MUST reflect the thread they’re posting on.

I also think that when talking about wiki technology, it is important to distinguish the difference between wikis and blogging. They key characteristic can be demonstrated through the idea of a blog being an online journal; it is an online avenue people utilize as a journal. Moreover, blog entries are typically structured in reverse chronological order. This differentiates from a wiki page as "wiki magic" allows a producer to use collaborative creation to submit information to a website and it will appear instantly. The content that is produced for a wiki page is not presented in any particular order; all content acts as an addition to a pre existing wiki.

I found an excellent article, coincidentally it is from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, which does so. I found this quote particularly interesting in reference to the Wiki readings for this week;

"Wikis are a highly flexible knowledge management space. Indeed, in comparison with the temporal information structure of blogs, it is useful to conceptualise wikis as spatial structures that are infinitely expandable. In essence, then, the wiki offers a vast simplification of the process of creating HTML pages, and thus is a very effective way to build and exchange information through collaborative effort" (Bruns & Duffy, 2006, p. 34).

This idea can be associated with Pattarawan and Wagner's argument of altruism; people collaborate in an open source community to share both self and community based information.

So, that is my understanding of Wiki technology and the experiences I gained through using it. I really enjoy writing a weekly blog about this course as I realize that I am learning quite a lot at a rapid rate. This led me to having an epiphany; I know what Wiki technology is and how to create my own wiki thread. I am sure others within COM336 will no doubt agree with me in saying that it is a great accomplishment.

References:

Bruns, A. & Duffy, P. (2006). The Use of Blogs, Wikis and RSS in Education: A conversation of possibilities. Proceeding Online Learning and Teaching Conference, p. 31-38.

Pattarawan, P. & Wagner, C. (2009). The Role of Wiki Technology and Altruism in Collaborative Knowledge Creation. Journal of Computer Information Systems, p. 33-41.

Hypocrisy and Niagara Falls

I have heard locals argue that the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls allows you to get a better view in comparison to the American side. I believe that the view from either side does not begin to compare to the experience you get from taking a ride on the Maid of the Mist.

Last weekend, along with both national and international exchange students from Buffalo State College, I took a boat ride into the incredible Niagara Falls.

I have discovered in the one month that I have been living in Buffalo, New York that the weather is very deceiving; the sun may be shining outside but within a few hours, clouds could descend, winds pick up and your summer dress would then seem to be the wrong choice for the day. So as you can guess, for this excursion to one of the seven forgotten natural wonders of the world, I packed away my dress and thongs (in Australia, the term "thongs" is the American equivalent for "flip-flops") and replaced them with jeans, a jumper (sweater) and sneakers.

Wasn't I glad that I chose the attire that I did; standing on the bridge which overlooked the Falls from the American side left tourists subject to a hair-whipping breeze. Did I mention that if you have long hair and plan on visiting Niagara Falls that you should probably consider tying it back? After getting some unbelievable photographs, which definitely did not do this sight any justice, the group and I set off to board the Maid of the Mist.

Armed with a bright blue, plastic poncho for protection from the wind and water generated from the mist of the Falls, I remember thinking how unlucky those people were who did not prepare for the wet, slippery conditions of the boat ride. Snug inside my glowing enclosure, which oddly resembled a garbage bag, the Maid of the Mist set off into the mighty Niagara Falls.

Some of the people who accompanied me on this trip had already visited the Falls; of these people, there were those who considered Niagara Falls as being "OK." Hearing these words come from their mouths made me furious; how could there be people that honestly did not appreciate such a view?

As the Maid of the Mist approached the Falls, people were taking as many shots as their cameras would allow; I wasn't the only person who didn't have a water proof camera. I noticed that the group I was a part of were all collectively huddled in one section of the boat; everyone was battling to see as much as they could without getting wet. Getting wet was inevitable, especially when the boat ventured into the horse shoe of the Falls, but it was definitely worth it.

Ah, how I love the notion of hypocrisy; the imperfect humans that we are causes us to be victims of it. As we disembarked, most people were grouped around cameras, uttering in disbelief of what they had just experienced; "Can you believe how great that shot is?" It is then that one of the people who I had, earlier in the day, been so mad with about their lack of appreciation for this world renowned attraction, approached me;

"How incredible is Niagara Falls?! It's one of the greatest things I have ever seen."

So, this still image not only captures my friend Jay and I (both exchange students from the University of Newcastle, Australia) in front of the amazing Niagara Falls but also reminds me that in certain situations, to simply trust my own judgment.

Turning "twen-teen"

Web 2.0, a metaphor for the evolving nature of the World Wide Web, has been given many varying definitions. The definition I find to be most comprehendible is that given by van Wamelen and de Kool; “Web 2.0 is the popular name of a new generation of web applications, sites and companies that emphasize openness, community and interaction.” The readings highlighted You Tube, Myspace and Facebook as Web 2.0 applications and I immediately identified with each of these examples.

When I first started to think about how Web 2.0 affects both my community and myself, a variety of questions surfaced with the most prominent one being; “which community?” My local community is very small and communicates through a communal notice board and an annual newsletter. So, I have decided to focus on a community I am a member of on both a macro and micro level; the “twen-teen” community. This community, in all its obscurity, includes people who have recently made the transition from nineteen to twenty years of age; on a micro level I am going to speak of my social circle back in Australia and then broaden this community by taking the “twen-teen” community to a macro level. This community will concentrate on Generation Y as a social collectivity.

I utilize Web 2.0 applications everyday and have grown up with technology as it evolves at the rapid rate it does. I was introduced to the World Wide Web in primary school (the equivalent of the American “elementary” school”) and became familiarized with the idea of communicating via an E-mail. From this introduction, I grew to learn how to interact with others through online chat rooms like MSN messenger, Myspace and Facebook as I continued my schooling career through to university. I wasn’t alone in this process; a common question I hear from people I meet while being out and about is “so, do you have a Facebook [account]?”

I have replaced asking for a new friend’s phone number for looking them up on Facebook and staying in touch that way. On a micro scale, my friends rely on Facebook to relay messages to each other about plans for the weekend as it is an inexpensive method of communicating between large groups. A prime example of how Web 2.0 will and does affect both my community and myself is through… ME! I am on exchange from the University of Newcastle, Australia and will be staying in the United States until the end of January 2010. In order to contact me and to view the photos of my travels, my friends use both Skype and Facebook.

Additionally, the article written by van Wamelen and de Kool exemplifies the classifications of Local Web 2.0 applications. As a member of the “twen-teen” community, I use both Dynamic and Personal Web 2.0 applications; the Dynamic application I use is MSN messenger as I engage in live chats and exchange documents with friends. Through blogging, I am participating in a Personal application as my blog is used for private use only.

Reflecting upon the “twen-teen” community on a macro level can be viewed through the way fellow members and myself communicate with others. Growing up in a world of evolving technologies we release personal information through using applications including Myspace. I constantly hear from my mother and grandmother that I have lost the essence of communication and social interaction as I do not write enough hand written letters to people. Instead I am accused of being glued to my laptop for hours on end conversing through social media networks. This is probably true, but I, and the other members of Generation Y shall argue that it is mere convenience to jump on Facebook chat (fast internet connection always helps) to organize a night out rather than send a letter a week before hand.

In saying that, I must admit that what I value most in methods of communication is hand written letters, zines, journals and am also a print media advocate. Although, I can recognize that I am a regular user of Web 2.0 applications (for example blogs and a Facebook account). Without these applications, I would most likely lose touch with a lot people back in Australia including friends of friends and people I met through school and sport (my micro “twen-teen” community.) On a global (macro) scale, Generation Y of the westernized world could probably say the same thing.

- While preparing this blog post, I utilized each of the prescribed readings from ANGEL (an example of a "specific" Web 2.0 application), as well as the three readings posted on the class blog page.