Open Sesame

Communication, New media, Life

jenlin2010 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:34:16 +0000

Humans, as a result of their development over thousands of years, have come to the conclusion that they can have everything and yet at the same time actually have nothing as a result.(1)

This post will be a summary of this blog.

Our human instincts have drive us to a level where we are intimately connected with each other. This kind of personal relationships are established through communication.

We use verbal or nonverbal communication everyday to connect with others. Verbal and nonverbal communication became the most important tools for us to form relationships with each another.

Internet, as the most important tool of media, has a big influence on our daily lives. Communications are now carry on over the virtual world. Electronic devices, multimedia and computers are things we have to deal with everyday.

Especially the Internet, it is becoming more and more important as it is one of the newest and most forward-looking media and surely “The” medium of the future. (2)

The Internet is very important in our lives but it can also affect us in a negative way.

When we use the internet in our lives in such way that we become addicted to it, experts in Sociology advice us that this is not good for our social prosperity. The Center for Online Addiction (1998) has classified internet addiction in to the following specific types: Cybersexual Addiction, whereby addiction to adult chat rooms is unhealthy for everyone; Cyber-relationship Addiction, which is online friendship made in chat rooms or newsgroups that replaced real-life friends and family; Net compulsions that referred to compressive online gambling, online auction addiction and obsessive online trading; Information Overload pertaining to compulsive web surfing or database searches; and Computer Addiction constituting obsessive computer game-playing or to programming aspects of computer science. (3)

With the development of our society, we are more and more dependent on our technologies, but we should still have the awareness about the cyber world and put ourselves in the right place.

Bibliography

(1)“BlogCatalog.” BlogCatalog. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

(2)“The Role of Internet in our Lives Today.” Free Articles Directory | Submit Articles – ArticlesBase.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

(3)“The Internet and our Social Lives – Associated Content – associatedcontent.com.” Associated Content – associatedcontent.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2010.

Lin Tian

Computer-mediated communication

jenlin2010 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:58:16 +0000

All of the social websites that we have seen on the Internet today allow their users to exchange opinions, and this has become a method for information exchange. In one of Susan Watt’s article, her findings indicate that users prefer computer-mediated communication over face to face communication, because computer-mediated communications are more egalitarian, democratic, and liberating (1). A number of experiments have revealed that computer-mediated communication has the social consequences of reducing status and power differentials(1).

Computer-mediated communication allows people to portray themselves in their ideal self. The person can be really shy in reality, but outgoing on the Internet. Computer-mediated communication is generally believed to be “socially impoverished in comparison with face-to-face communication” (2). Research has proven this to be false. In Susan Watt’s article, she pointed out that the reduction in social cues and relative anonymity, facilitate bycomputer-mediated communication, are more likely to reinforce socially normative behaviour rather than undermine it. This finding is in greater detail in Postmes and Spears 1998 and Postmes and Lea 2000 researches.

Bibliography

(1) Woolgar, Steve. “How social is internet communication? a reappraisal of bandwidth and anonymity effects.” Virtual Society? Get Real!: Technology, Cyberbole, Reality. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2003. 63. Print.

(2) Woolgar, Steve. “How social is internet communication? a reappraisal of bandwidth and anonymity effects.” Virtual Society? Get Real!: Technology, Cyberbole, Reality. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2003.62.Print.

Yanqiong Li

Green Dam Youth Escort

jenlin2010 — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:32:14 +0000

Green Dam Youth Escort is a content-control software developed in the People’s Republic of China(PRC). Under a directive from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) taking effect on 1 July 2009. It is forcing files to be stored in a compact disc or pre-installed on all new personal computers sold in mainland China, including those imported from abroad. (1)

This Green Dam Youth Escort remind me a similar software which developed several years ago in China–the Great Firewall.

These two software used to blocked most social websites such as Facebook and YouTube even Twitter. However, Chinese Government had did this for reasons related to the Urumqi conflicts and Tibet nationalism protest.

In Mu’s point of view, this activity is controversial. And I have an example which can best illustrate this situation.

One of my high school classmates has the background in Urumqi, that means he had to go back to his hometown during the summer vacation, which was when the Urumqi conflict happened. Things were as bad as predicted, it was a nightmare.

According to the media, the conflicts were terrifying and cruel. But what he had saw was the real killing, there were actual death and rape. Everyone was afraid to leave their houses.

After this “trip”, he told me he would rather install the Green Dam Youth Escort to shield the websites than to experience the horrible event over again.

However, experts have different ideas about this.

Professor Jonathan Zittrain, of Harvard’s Berkman Center said: “Once you’ve got government-mandated software installed on each machine, the software has the keys to the kingdom… While the justification may be pitched as protecting children and mostly concerning pornography, once the architecture is set up it can be used for broader purposes, such as the filtering of political ideas.” Colin Maclay, another Harvard academic, said that Green Dam creates a log file of all of the pages that the user tries to access. “At the moment it’s unclear whether that is reported back, but it could be.” (2)

If this software actually is what Chinese Government have said it to be, meaning that it can be removed anytime, then it will be a mediator of the regional conflicts.

Bibliography

(1)” China postpones mandatory installation of controversial filtering software_English_Xinhua.” »¶Ó·ÃÎÊÐÂ»ªÍø. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2010. .

(2) “BBC NEWS | Technology | China’s computers at hacking risk.” BBC NEWS | News Front Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2010. .

Lin Tian

The very act of blogging

jenlin2010 — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:57:55 +0000

It is obvious that the word blogging is invented when the blogs have became popular over the Internet. Blogging is generally seen as the act of writing something on the Internet, which can be something of our interests or something that has happened in our lives; it can be anything that we want to share to the world. There are many types of blogs, but they all have one in common, which is that the contents of the blogs are opinions and reflects the bias of their writers. and In Erik Ringmar’s book, A Blogger’s Manifesto, he sees blogs as journals that covers a variety of topics (1). The topics range from politics and activism to depictions of daily events.

The users of blogs are generally people who are active users of the Internet, they are mostly students or office workers. Their identities are usually anonymous. This gives them a way to portray themselves as someone else or their ideal self. Sometimes the persona that is portrayed on the blog is different from the person in real life. Anonymity gives writers more freedom to make up stories or tell tall tales(2), and they don’t have to worry about being called a liar or a poser. As Erik Ringmar has said in his book that “the whole point of blog anonymous blogging is to sever the connection between the online and the offline persona (3).

Anonymous blogs might have seen like a good thing for the writers, but the biggest problem for the anonymous blogs is their credibility(3). As I have mentioned, bloggers can make up stories and write them as something real, and this is a fact known by most readers. As a result, we have no idea if the author really is who he/she claims to be. This becomes a dilemma; anonymous blogging gives one the freedom to write, but it also undermines the credibility of the contents. Nevertheless, blogs do gain credibility overtime, and if not, the contents are still fun to read.

Bibliography

(1) Ringmar, Erik. “FAQ.” A Blogger’s Manifesto: Free Speech and Censorship in the Age of the Internet (Anthem Art and Culture). New York: Anthem Press, 2007. 25. Print.

(2) Ringmar, Erik. “FAQ.” A Blogger’s Manifesto: Free Speech and Censorship in the Age of the Internet (Anthem Art and Culture). New York: Anthem Press, 2007. 28. Print.

(3) Ringmar, Erik. “FAQ.” A Blogger’s Manifesto: Free Speech and Censorship in the Age of the Internet (Anthem Art and Culture). New York: Anthem Press, 2007. 29. Print.

Yanqiong Li

Violence and Media

jenlin2010 — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:18:44 +0000

I used to talk about violence on YouTube, but today, I will generally talk about violent shows in media.

I’m a big fan of crime-solving movies and TV series. FBI, CIA are the most popular concepts in criminal TV shows, which is all available online.

However, almost all the experts are criticizing violence in media; in classical Greece, scholars argued that the violence depicted on plays was actually good for society and for individuals in the audience, because it gave them an outlet for their own aggression. (1)

Most of us generally accept the notion that violent behavior is a complex problem formed of many influences.

Strong evidence form survey research consistently shows that heavy viewers of violence on television or online are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior than light viewers.

Moreover, viewers of violent television or online express more willingness to use violence to resolve real interpersonal conflicts. (2)

Leonard Berkowitz and his colleagues assert that many media effects are immediate, transitory, and short-term. When people watch television violence, it activates or triggers other semantically related thoughts that may influence how the person responds to the violent content. (3)

Bibliography

(1) (2) Grossberg, Lawrence, Ellen A. Wartella, D. Charles Whitney, and J. Macgregor Wise. MediaMaking: Mass Media in a Popular Culture. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc, 2005. Print.

(3) Berkowitz, Leonard; University of Wisconsin. Aggression: A Social Psychological Analysis (McGraw-Hill Series in Psychology). Sydney: Mcgraw – Hill Book Company, 1962. Print.

Lin Tian

The new generation: the age of the Millennials

jenlin2010 — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:00:52 +0000

Today, the majority of the online users are youths who are born after 1982, Howe and Strauss call them the Millennials. They are active users of the Internet and are using the Internet to advance their interests and voice their beliefs. Unlike the Generation X, they are more numerous, more affluent, better educated, and more ethnically diverse (1). The Millennials have great potentials in making social change; they are more are responsive to social injustice and are able to utilize different technologies as a tool for promoting their interests.

In Anthony Wilhelm’s book, Digital Nation, he sees the Millennials as both consumers and producers of new content and applications (2). They are the targets of corporations; many of the products and services that are produced are made for them. The Millennials have “significant economic and political power” (2) to influence market behaviour. They are also producers, because they are able to apply Internet as an effective organizing tool to involve and engage in issues of their interest. They are able to cause social change without leaving their doorstep.

Comparing to the Generation X, the Millennials are more eager to embrace unpopular causes and support global justice. They form groups online and create website that advocate their interests for social change (3). No example will better represent this phenomenon better than the World Trade Organization’s meeting in Seattle in 1999. Many of the young people have come together on the Internet to oppose the World Trade Organization

Bibliography

(1) Wilhelm, Anthony G.. “wireless-youth: rejuvenating the net.” Digital Nation: Toward an Inclusive Information Society. New Ed ed. London: The Mit Press, 2006. 113. Print.

(2) Wilhelm, Anthony G.. “wireless-youth: rejuvenating the net.” Digital Nation: Toward an Inclusive Information Society. New Ed ed. London: The Mit Press, 2006. 119. Print.

(3) Wilhelm, Anthony G.. “wireless-youth: rejuvenating the net.” Digital Nation: Toward an Inclusive Information Society. New Ed ed. London: The Mit Press, 2006. 120. Print.

Yanqiong Li

Chinese Government Shuts Down Facebook

jenlin2010 — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:22:31 +0000

Facebook is being blocked in China over the Urumqi clashes.

China’s shutdown of Facebook is part of a larger social media trend where citizens are denied access to Facebook and Twitter as a means of enforcing state control over media.(1)

Actually, this happened when I am in Canada and I have no idea what Facebook is.

Foreign media also said something about how the act of Chinese Government blocking Facebook is an expected act.

The Chinese government simply have ban all excess to Facebook. It is not hard to block Facebook, however, this level of control requires a sophisticated, large scale effort to accomplish.

China’s government not only control over the technological aspect of media, but also the economical aspect of media. All the major telecommunications and media companies are state-owned entities or are majority owned by the state. This exerts a significant level of state influence on how people receive and send information.(2)

Bibliography

(1) (2)” Chinese Government Shuts Down Facebook .” All Facebook – The Unofficial Facebook Blog – Facebook News, Facebook Marketing, Facebook Business, and More!. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2010. chinese-goverment-shuts-down-facebook/>.

Lin Tian

Social websites and its culture.

jenlin2010 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:22:36 +0000

The social websites have long become a tool for connecting people around the globe. Anyone with Internet can gain access to the social websites and the opportunity of knowing people that live somewhere else in the world. The social websites are the bridge that connects different cultures together.

Many of the popular social websites are created by the Americans and they reflect western culture. Although the websites are rooted in western culture, but they have their own culture. In order to understand this, we need to first understand what culture really means. The word culture is generally associate with the idea of a nation as a geopolitical entity with citizens that share “a particular way of life” (1). The culture that the social websites have is a one that is evolved from multiple cultures, because “culture is never a completely given or permenant state of affairs…we don’t just inherent culture; we also invent, change , and transcend it” (2).This type of culture can be seen as a form of popular culture, which is the “artifacts and styles of human expression develop from creativity of ordinary people, and circulated among people according to their interests, preferences, and tastes” (3). All the user-created contents reflect their own interests, beliefs, and values. When other users consume the contents, they absorbing information about other cultures and people. This is a great way for reducing racism, as people become more tolerate to diversity.

Bibliography

(1) Lull, James. “culture.” Media, Communication, Culture. 2 ed. Columbia: Columbia University Press, 2000. 130. Print.

(2) Lull, James. “culture.” Media, Communication, Culture. 2 ed. Columbia: Columbia University Press, 2000. 132. Print.

(3) Lull, James. “symbolic power and popular culture.” Media, Communication, Culture. 2 ed. Columbia: Columbia University Press, 2000. 165. Print.

Yanqiong Li

The fight of digital privacy

jenlin2010 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:51:05 +0000

Michael Jackson is one of my favorite singers in the world. In order to know him well, I often research him online.

The Internet has provided me with everything about him; both his public life and his private life.

I have noticed that Michael Jackson had faced some serious privacy problems, the problem was intensified by the digital world.

His secret videos were revealed more than once and it had shocked him.

This is not something about gossip or scandal; with the development of our society, digital privacy becomes one of the most dangerous thing everyone is facing everyday everyday.

The Internet has made it far easier for people to get someone’s birth date and social security numbers but also liens, lawsuits, divorces and other personal and potentially embarrassing – but technically public – information.

Activists have been sounding alarms for years about the decline of privacy in the digital age, with the public sometimes responding. Privacy advocates say far more worrisome intrusions are due as improving technology gives government, advertisers and insurance companies new ways to harvest precise information. (1)

A law to protect personal information disclosed through electronic transactions will take effect in Canada on Jan. 1, 2000

Under the law, the consent of consumers would be required if their personal information are being used commercially — and it would be illegal to use data that are gathered in the past without that consent. Consumers will also have the right to review any information about them that is on file. (2)

Bibliography

(1)”The Fight For Digital Privacy – CBS News.” Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News – CBS News. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. .

(2)”Canada Strengthens Internet Privacy – NYTimes.com.” The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. .

Lin Tian

The era of Information exchange

jenlin2010 — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:08:55 +0000

We all know that the Internet is a very powerful tool for information exchange; people are able to exchange information from one side of the globe to the other. This process of information exchange is made possible by social sites (Facebook, Blogs, Youtube, Twitter, and etc.) Social sites are a very important part of the online experience, almost all users of Internet has an account with at least one of these social sites. Social sites have become the number one use of the Internet, our lives are heavily influenced by these social sites and whatever we are doing online is a copy of something in real life (Dr. Strangelove lecture).

No matter how hard the government and corporations are trying to control the Internet, users will still find ways to get around them. Even when the pirated contents are removed or the websites being shutdown, there are always other new websites that are created for the same purpose of sharing pirated contents. Online users are moving ahead of the corporations and government; online users can post contents faster than the government can remove them. Before the contents being removed, many of users have already viewed it.

Before the Internet, peoples’ source of entertainment has always been the television and the radio. Now with the powerful Internet, users can find new ways to entertain….online. More technologies are coming out, pulling us away from television (Dr. Strangelove lecture). Sites like Youtube allow users to watch shows and movies, there are also other sites where internet users can go to watch free movies. Youtube has saw the shifting behaviour of people and is launching a new video rental service for only $3.99 (1). Comparing to Blockbuster, many users will prefer using Youtube’s service, because it’s cheaper and they don’t have to leave home to rent the videos. As Dr. Strangelove said in his lecture, it is likely that the main pipe for delivering television will be the Internet. The uploading speeding and the resolution of the videos are constantly increasing, creating a better experience for the viewers. The platform is changing, moving from the physical world to the virtual world.

Bibliography

(1) Wu, Tim, and Slate.com. ” Youtube’s radical shift to movies .” Vancouver Sun – Canadian breaking news, sports, business, entertainment, B.C. . N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. .

Yanqiong Li