WOMEN AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES

Photo not taken in '97

I don’t know if disagreeing with Dale Spender’s views and opinions makes me a sexist but I found some arguments to be a bit bold. Spender (1997) discusses the inequality women face in regards to computer technologies as well as the monopolistic practices of men that keep them out. Throughout the article I felt she didn’t make suggestions as much as she stated her information as fact.

Spender briefly covers some of the key historical points in regards to gender inequality and technology. Spender mentions the introduction of print over 500 years ago which resulted in women not being allowed in universities and other halls of learning (1997). Spender also mentions the all-male political parties that passed laws that prohibited women from becoming learned (1997).

I obviously wasn’t around for the introduction of print but I was around in 1997 when this article was written and the two are very different times periods (obviously again). Spender (1997) does mention this massive difference but follows it by playing the part of a 16th century victim which leads me to some questions:  Were women not allowed to buy computers in 1997? Not allowed to take computer-based classes? Not allowed to use the internet? She mentions that girls weren’t taking computer-based classes but that it was their own choice not to do so. In fact, most of her points simply came back to choice or preference; it wasn’t that women were kept out; it’s that they chose to stay away. Spender (1997) states that economic factors contributed to the low adoption of this technology among women with statements like “women don’t have the money to buy computers … [or] hold internet accounts”. But this wasn’t the 1950’s where women stayed home and men went to work and controlled the money; I’m sure the initial high price of computers and internet affected both genders equally.

This is only my reflection of the study and for the sake of winning back any female readers (Rae – my only reader), I will fast-forward to today. If these inequalities did exist way back in 1997 as Spender suggests, these ‘inequalities’ seem to be all but gone in today’s digital environment. The ‘closed doors’ (Spender, D 2007) are now open and girls aren’t afraid to use them. I am currently doing a major in digital communications (with some pretty technically heavy subjects) and my classes are full of girls (not that I’m complaining). Any hesitations that women had towards using the internet are now a thing of the past and they are now contributing freely to the over-whelming mass of information currently on the internet. I would have said feely and confidently until I discovered the term ‘trolling’.

Trolling is the act of posting insulting, hurtful and even sexually violent opinions on a piece of innocently posted information and it could quite possible cause women to revert back to Spender’s idea of women back in 1997. Some of the comments discussed by Karalee Evans (2011) and Vanessa Thorpe (2011) were shocking to say the least. These ‘trolls’ are giving my gender a bad name and it needs to stop (obviously this is not the main reason why this needs to stop but you get my point). I can honestly say that the video “The BBC confronts an Internet Troll” was the first video in this subject to draw an emotional reaction; I wanted to jump into my computer screen and punch that guy in the face so hard! In what little reading I have done on the act of ‘trolling’, my far-from-expert’ opinion is that more companies need to adopt the comment screening process if these trollers are to be stopped; that or the BBC needs to start getting physical. I’m happy with either outcome.

Thanks for reading.

References

Spender, D. (1997) 'The Position of Women in Information Technology - or Who Got there First and with What Consequences?' Current Sociology 1997 45: 135-147. http://csi.sagepub.com/content/45/2/135.citation

Thorpe, Vanessa (2011) Women bloggers call for a stop to 'hateful' trolling by misogynist men, The Guardian, Sunday 6 November, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/05/women-bloggers-hateful-trolling

Evans, Karalee (2011) Men call me things: it's not as romantic as it sounds, The Drum, 11 November,

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3659712.html

‘The BBC confronts an internet troll’

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/02/07/the-bbc-confronts-an-internet-troll-on-national-tv/

CITIZEN JOURNALISM II

‘‘When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that’s citizen journalism’’- Jay Rosen (2008)

The importance of citizen journalism has been the centre of many a debate between the professional and amateur journalist alike. I tend to lean towards the “importance” side of this argument and suggest that citizen journalism is just the natural progression of the profession. Seth C. Lewis (2010) rightly points out that in a digital environment of 1s and 0s, information is no longer scarce, hard to produce, nor difficult to publish. Hence the setting for a citizen(s) journalism.

Lewis’ (2010) research outlines the utopian and dystopian views many professionals have regarding citizen journalism; focusing mainly on community newspapers. Participant answers discussed the practical and theoretical implications that citizen journalism could have on their industry. I couldn’t help but picture the anti-citizen journalism respondents of this research as crotchety old people; stuck in their ways and afraid of change. Conversely, the affirmative respondents seemed young, hip, and willing to work hand-in-hand with their amateur counter-parts.

Blogger journalist J.D. Lasica (2003) suggests that instead of looking at blogging and traditional journalism as rivals for readers’ eyeballs, we should recognize that we’re entering an era in which they complement each other, intersect with each other, play off one another. The transparency of blogging has contributed to news organizations becoming a bit more accessible and interactive, although newsrooms still have a long, long way to go. I feel the same way as Lasica.

On the other side, it could be argued that citizen journalism is a big contributor to the opinion the Journalism degrees have become the most useless degrees in the world (Prentice, J 2011, Alvaraz, A 2011, Sehgal, U 2011). While I don’t believe this is the case, I do believe that professional journalists have to accept their changing environment and embrace the pro-am relationships because like it or not, citizen journalism isn’t going away anytime soon.

References

Lasica, J.D. 2009, ‘Blogs and Journalism need each other’, Nieman Reports, accessed on 30/04/2012, http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=101042

Lewis, C. (2010) Thinking about citizen journalism: the philosophical and practical challenges of user-generated content for community newspapers, Journalism Practice, Vol. 4, No 2, 163-179

Prentice, J 2011, ‘Degrees are useless and other tips for aspiring Journalists’, Business Insider, June 16, accessed on 30/04/12, www.businessinsider.com/degrees-are-useless-and-other-tips-for-aspiring-journalists-2011-6

Alvaraz, A 2011, ‘Report: Journalism Degrees are probably just as useless as you expected’, MediaITE, April 28, accessed on 30/04/12, http://www.mediaite.com/online/report-journalism-degrees-are-probably-just-as-useless-as-you-expected/

Sehgal, U 2011, ‘Journalism tops list of most useless College Degrees’, Fishbowl NY, April 28, accessed on 30/04/12, http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/journalism-useless-college-degrees_b34212

Rosen, Jay 2008 ‘’A Most Useful Definition of Citizen Journalism’’, PressThink, accessed on 30/04/2012, http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2008/07/14/a_most_useful_d.html

MUSIC PIRACY

Ever since music became digitized, "a guy I know" has looked for ways to get it for free. He spent all of his money growing up on CD’s and I guess it is just his way of getting reimbursed. If you name a P2P file sharing client, he’s probably used it. When Napster was released, he thought it was the best thing in the world. Of the billion plus files shared by Feb 2001 (Whelan, A 2012), he’s probably responsible for more than most. But when Napster shut down, he had to look elsewhere to satisfy his file sharing needs. And so began the seemingly endless list of virus infested P2P software downloads; a well-known risk of file sharing. After a while he just gave up; that is until he discovered torrents.

Torrents are different from previous ways of downloading music in that the files are taken and downloaded from many (sometimes thousands) of different sources (WiseGeek N.D). This is the main reason why torrent download clients have yet to meet the fate of Napster and why it’s impossible to track the origin of any one file in order to prosecute an individual for illegally sharing music.

There has been a lot of debate surrounding the effect of digital piracy on the music industry so I have included some recent figures to help you make up your own mind.

• 30 billion songs were downloaded between 2004 and 2009
• Annually, US internet users consume $7-$20 billion worth of digitally pirated music
• It is estimated that 1.2 million jobs in Europe will be lost by 2015 across the film, music, software and TV industries

http://www.webpagefx.com/blog/internet/online-digital-piracy-infographic/

Thanks for reading. Please enjoy this vid.

Watch this video on VideoSurf or see more Trey Parker Videos or Matt Stone Videos

References

WiseGeek N.D ‘What are Torrents?’ accessed: 24/04/2012, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-torrents.htm  

Whelan, A 2012, Convergent Media Pratices, lecture, BCM112, University of Wollongong, delivered 23 April

Video sourced from: http://www.videosurf.com/video/south-park-not-a-big-deal-10791435


Image sourced from: http://media.photobucket.com/image/music%20pirate/eliteskater08/Music_Pirate9jhDetail.png?o=17

GEEK CHIC

Geeks are cool now which really seems to annoy my sister who has been a self-professed geek for years now. Everyone is dressing like her and becoming interested in the things that she was into "before they were cool". The old clothes she brought from op shops for a dollar are now being sold for hundreds in designer stores.

This social development fascinates me and Lev Grossman (2005) outlines this in his well-written article ‘The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth’. I found myself agreeing with nearly everything he said and realised I’m probably one of the people my sister is hating on. I only started watching the x-men and other super-hero movies when they became mainstream I guess I am guilty of being “geek chic” as Henry Jenkins (2010) puts it. 

Jenkins (2010) interviews Ethan Gilsdorf, the author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks and they discuss the geek stereotype as well as the ‘cooling of the geek’ mentioned by Grossman (2005). Gilsdorf explains how hard it’s becoming to the nerds apart from the jocks and I have to say I agree. The pale, over-weight, acne-covered stereotypes we all imagine when the word geek comes to mind no longer applies.

Dmitri Williams (2008) explores this phenomenon in his study 'Who plays, how much and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile'. One of the most fascinating and surprising findings from that research was that gamers are apparently healthier and in better shape that non-gamers (Williams, D 2008) whereas all pre-conceptions would usually point to the contrary.

The universe is turning upside down; geeks are looking and fit and non-geeks are over-weight and out-of-touch with what’s cool. Who saw that coming?

References

Jenkins, Henry (2010) "A Kind of Vast Game": An Interview with Ethan Gilsdorf (Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks)

Grossman, Lev (2005) "The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth", Time Magazine

Williams, Dmitri, Yee, Nick, and Caplan, Scott (2008), 'Who plays, how much and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile', Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication vol. 13 pp.993-1018.

TRANSMEDIA STORY-TELLING

Henry Jenkins (2007) explores the idea of spreading a narrative across numerous platforms in his blog post, ‘transmedia story-telling 101’. Straight off the bat I had no idea what transmedia story-telling was but Jenkins managed to make it very clear by using examples like the Matrix, DC comics and Star Wars in order to give an easily understood definition. I must admit I have never explored a story further than the one text; I have read a couple of the Harry Potter books as well as seen the movies but that’s about it. Comics made into movies are a great example of how one can delve further into the characters and storylines of a particular narrative.  Especially with the recent barrage of Marvel super-hero movies being released at the moment, those who have read the comics have far greater insight into the story-line than those who haven’t. The biggest display of transmedia story-telling I can think of is the Star Wars phenomenon. Jenkins (2007) mentions the ‘Attack of the Clones’ cartoon series which fills the gap between episode II and III but that is just the tip of the ice-berg; books, comics, websites, and merchandise all contribute to the densely layered storyline and give insight into even the smallest aspect of the narrative. Video games give background information on lesser known characters and let you explore jedi missions not shown in the films. A particular board game takes you through every step needed to become a Jedi; steps that cannot be fully understood through watching the films. I myself have not taken part in this extra Star Wars research but I have seen first-hand the extent of someone’s Star Wars textual library and it is mind blowing.

My only question about transmedia story-telling relates to consumer made texts. Are fan made comics included in the transmedia space?  If it isn’t approved by the original creators, are they to be disregarded when putting together the pieces of a transmedia narrative? If so, how do we know what to ignore? I think that for a fluid, un-fractured and un-contradictory narrative, all ideas have to come from the same source. If all texts (producer and consumer) are included, the story is likely to become too confusing and the consumer will lose interest. I know I would. Thanks for reading.

References

Jenkins, H. (2007) 'Transmedia Storytelling 101' http://henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html

Image sourced from: bdcomics.bdgamers.net

CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Citizen Journalism is giving us unprecedented documentation of life-changing events. Thanks to the invention of the smartphone, nearly everyone in the world walks around with a camera and video recording device in their pocket at all times. Not only this, but they have the ability to instantly broadcast anything they capture to a worldwide audience.  Janey Gordon (2007) discusses the implications of this trend in relation to three case studies; the SARS outbreak (2003), the Sumatra-Andaman Tsunami (2004) and the London Bombings (2005). Gordon (2007) covered the different ways in which citizens used their mobile phones these situations but I find one use in particular very exciting; the new-found ability to capture incredible images as they’re happening and instantly show the world.

Last year, a devastating tsunami hit the north-eastern coast of Japan. A collection of the most amazing amateur footage was immediately uploaded to YouTube and watched by millions. These videos showed the approaching wave followed by the incredible destruction. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter went crazy with updates and messages. Citizen journalists reported every second of this disaster to the world. Clay Shirky (2009) discusses this in relation to the earthquake in China. Like the Tsunami, ordinary people were recording the event as it was happening. BBC even found out about the earthquake from twitter which I found quite funny.

The reason I find citizen journalism so exciting is that years from now, when children want to learn about the Tsunami that hit Japan way back in 2011, they will have access to a ridiculous amount of information; news reports, photos, videos and comments from people who actually were there will be at their fingertips. There will be no more assumption in future history lessons. Imagine if this technology was invented earlier; we would probably know who shot JFK, Tupac and Biggie. Just food for thought. Thanks for reading.

Peace

References

Gordon, Janey (2007), The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere: Mobile Phone Usage in Three Critical Situations, Convergence 13/3 Pages: 307-319.

Shirky, Clay (2009) How cellphones, Twitter, Facebook can make history

Image sourced from: cybersoc.com

PAST VS. PRESENT

A lot has happened since Henry Jenkins wrote his article ‘The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence’ (2004). He discusses the changing relationship between the producers and consumers of the media and poses many questions about the future of this relationship. According to Jenkins (2004), media convergence is the reason for this ever-changing communicative landscape. Instead of the traditional ‘we talk/you listen’ media model of old, ‘the people formally known as the audience’ (Jay Rosen) can now create and manipulate messages and release them into the world with effortless ease. This is just one aspect of media convergence that Jenkins covers. These days, media convergence is both a top-down corporate-driven process and a bottom-up consumer-driven process (Jenkins, H 2004).

In 2004, Jenkins discussed nine important negotiations he believed were apt to occur. I found it very interesting to read through his predictions of the future in comparison to the present. One that stood out for me was his stance on micro-payments in relation to online music sales. He nailed it. When he wrote this piece, micro-payment technology was still an idea being kicked around the office; now it has effectively killed the retail music industry. I would love to hear his current thoughts on what he wrote back then. For the most part, many of the issues of 2004 regarding media convergence are still considered issues today.

The revolutionary Apple II

Jonathan Zittrain’s article ‘The future of the internet and how to stop it’ (2008) also compared future and present. In this case, Zittrain (2008) discussed Steve Jobs’ release of the iPhone in 2007 compared to his release of the Apple II PC thirty years earlier. Both were revolutionary pieces of technology, but with different user capabilities in terms of content manipulation. The Apple II allowed its users to input and rewrite code in order to personalize the functions of the technology whereas the iPhone is the opposite. It is sterile. Rather than a platform that invites innovation, the iPhone comes pre-programmed (Zittrain, J 2008).

This difference in (for lack of a better word) permissions relates to Ted’s comparison of the iPhone and Android smartphone from the lecture (Mitew, T 2012). The Android, like the Apple II, allows outsider coding to change the capabilities of the phone. Mitew (2012) mentioned that they can even be programed to control other appliances and electronics around the house such as opening the garage door and changing the track on the CD player. I was unaware of these capabilities until now. Although extremely cool, are these ‘permissions’ worth the risk of viruses? I believe that most people are happy to sacrifice innovation for protection. I have never owned nor used an Android smartphone so I am hardly in a position to critically compare the two but I am willing to go out on a limb and say that the iPhone is the cautious person’s smartphone. I can only assume iPhone users generally don’t care about the coding; they just want their phone to work. I believe this is what Steve Jobs was getting at when he said:

“We define everything that is on the phone. . . . You don’t want your phone to be like a PC. The last thing you want is to have loaded three apps on your phone and then you go to make a call and it doesn’t work anymore…” (Zittrain, J 2008)

That's my two cents anyway. If you haven't already seen it, take a gander at the unveiling of the first iPhone (the intro anyway). I love how pumped everyone is in the crowd. Thanks for reading.

Peace.

References

Jenkins, Henry (2004), The cultural logic of media convergence, International Journal of Cultural Studies, Volume 7(1): 33–43.

Zittrain, J. (2008) "Introduction". In J. Zittrain The Future of The Internet And How To Stop It (p. 1-5)

Mitew, T 2012, Convergent Media Practices, lecture, BCM112, University of Wollongong, delivered 19 March.

Apple II pic sourced from: www.whatculture.com

Video sourced from: www.youtube.com

BLOCKBUSTERS AND COPYRIGHT

Blockbuster: Avatar grossed $2.8 billion

Marco Cucco (2009) discusses blockbusters in great detail and as a big fan of ridiculous special effects and action, I was happy to read his stuff. Everything Cucco (2009) covered in relation to blockbusters was to be expected – big budgets, big effects, big audience, etc. That being said he did divulge some useful information on the origin and history of the “genre”. Like that the word “Blockbuster” had a military origin and that “Jaws” (1975) was the first movie to open on a large number of screens on opening weekend (Cucco, M 2009).

Cucco (2009) then pretty much gave a break down on how to market a blockbuster to the public. I found it interesting the number of movies that fail to turn a profit compared to those that do. Being a self-proclaimed ‘movie buff’, I enjoyed reading about the tactics that marketers use (and succeed) to get me in the theatres. Cucco (2009) mentions something that has always annoyed me. Blockbusters never get any credit. They are absent at the Oscars while the worst movie of year takes home the statue (case in point – ‘The Hurt Locker’). Movie critics tear them to pieces and give horrible movies 5 stars. I created a movie review blog for another subject for just this reason. I haven’t added to it for a while but feel free to check it out - http://thereelreview1.blogspot.com.au/

 

While reading Steve Collin’s paper on Copyright and Fair Use, It reminded me of James Watt’s patent of his steam engine design. Watt’s invented the first real steam engine and slapped a patent on it that restricted any one replicating or building on his original design. This patent gave him a monopoly on the industry but also set the industrial revolution back some years. Ironically, not only did Watt use the patent system as a legal cudgel with which to smash competition, but his own efforts at developing a superior steam engine were hindered by the very same patent system he used to keep competitors at bay. It is only after their patents expired that Watt really started to manufacture steam engines (Boldrin, M, Levine, D.K. 2007).

Collins (2008) describes fair use as a safety valve on copyright law to prevent oppressive monopolies (like the one Watt had on the steam engine) and I believe it is very necessary for true creativity to flourish. Brilliant ideas are born every day but we can’t rely on that same person to build on and evolve that idea. I believe copyrights hinder creative progress but at the same the absence of copyrights could take away a person’s desire to create. I guess it’s a necessary evil. What do you think??

Thanks for reading.

Cucco, M (2009), ‘The promise is great: the blockbuster and the Hollywood economy’, Media, Culture & Society, 31/2: 215 – 230

Collins, S (2008), ‘Recovering fair use’, M/C Media Culture 11 (6)

Boldrin, M., and Levine, D.K. (2007). Introduction. In Against Intellectual Monopoly (pp. 1-15). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press [URL: http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/papers/anew01.pdf]

Image sourced from: Wikipedia