blog #2 -- Virtual Community

My group of friends in high school were what people would call "nerds" ... or more specifically "computer geeks". The group was large and consisted of both boys and girls. The boys (and a few girls, including myself), would often LAN together on weekends. Counterstrike, Starcraft, Doom, Battlefield 1942 and even DanceDance Revolution were among the games we would play.

In addition, we would go to movies, discuss events, debate various issues, have BBQs etc.

As my friends became more tech savvy and web savvy, they decided to start an online forum called "Stupid-Trash.net". The forum was not only intended for the discussion of computer games and tech questions but was a virtual manifestation of the unique group of friends we had.

The forum was divided into various topics such as: "Gaming", "Tech questions", "For Sale", "Religious Debate", "Dreams", "Hang Outs", "Randomosity" etc.

The forum had a place for each of our friends to be able to participate in and communicate with one another.

Often, the forum would turn into discussions of "what happened last night at the LAN party" or "are you going to so and so's house". These topics would only make sense to those within our group of friends. While anyone had access to the forum, it would have been hard for someone to understand the conversations happening unless they knew the group, or a subset of the group, personally.

If a stranger to the community had stumbled upon the site and wanted to join the next LAN party, they might face some obstacles because a) they dont know us and b) we dont know them, so we would be less likely to extend the invitation to the stranger because they have no tie or 'meat space' connection with the group.

If the person happened to be a friend of mine, then I would be able to vouch for them and invite them to the LAN.

The real barrier with this community was knowing its members in 'meat space'. Without that connection, it would be hard for someone to jump in on a conversation or get invited to a LAN etc.

Blog #1 -- CYBERSPACE

In the introduction to Michael Benedikt's article "Cyberspace: first steps" -- he basically states that since William Gibson's introduction of the word "cyberspace" in 1984, it has had certain negative connotations tied to it. Benedikt said, "An unhappy word [cyberspace], perhaps, if it remains tied to the desperate, dystopic vision of the near future found in the pages of Neuromancer (1984) and Count Zero (1987)..."

I understand that, perhaps, the above definition of cyberspace was exactly the kind of thinking Benedikt was trying to unravel in this article...but I personally, still associate 'cyberspace' with impending 'dystopia'.

Let us first define 'Dystopia':

–noun

a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.

While I feel the web in a great place to gather an array of knowledge and communicate with the like-minded (or the unlike-minded) etc. I feel there are MANY aspects of the web which are leading to "oppression" and for some "misery".

Take the events of China vs Google -- China was having it's google search engine censored, to disallow people from searching certain topics or accessing certain sites. This kind of censorship is absolutely an oppression of the ability of the Chinese to use the web freely.

If the internet/web did not exist, than this need to 'control' it would not exist. The pure existence of the internet opens doors for people, governments, companies etc. to control, censor, regulate, and restrict the level of access that others have.

Let's talk about the 'misery' aspect of 'dystopia'. Social networking sites, such as Facebook, are causing anxiety and misery for some who are concerned about privacy issues. People, unfamiliar with personal privacy settings etc., are experiencing anxiety about the level of information others can see about them. Many employers are using social networking sites to view the pages of potential candidates. If someone tags a questionable photo of you on facebook and an employer comes across it and finds it offensive, then that persons job opportunity may become jeopardized....causing misery.

To me, each time a new media is created, it creates new problems to be solved. To say that the web is all peachy and wonderful is to be ignorant. While the internet can be a wonderful thing we must not overlook the issues it in turn creates.

Non-Assignment Post

I have only been in Washington state for about 5 days and 4 days of those have been spent at WSU-TC. I can already tell that I am going to be extremely pleased with the curriculum of each of my courses this semester!

I feel that each of my courses contain at least some information that can be applied to the other.

For example: today in DTC 475 -- we briefly touched on Science Fiction and its origins and implication in regards to todays technology. In my Eng 339 course -- we are going to be watching Forbidden Plane, a classic sci-fi film.

I am interested to see how the continuing discussions of Cyberspace/technology (and it's origins) might overlap with discussions of sci-fi filmography in ENG 339.

This post, of course, is completely unrelated to the Assignment for Friday. But I wanted to get these thoughts out before my next class!

-hannah

Happy 1st blog entry!

Hello!

My name is Hannah Goodman and I am currently a Digital Technology & Culture major at WSU-TC.

I spent the past 3 years studying Cinema and Television Arts at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in Los Angeles.

Recently, the ENTIRE Cal State University system faced a $41 MILLION dollar BUDGET CUT. Yes, you read that right -- $41million! What does that mean for CSU students? Increase in tuition AND cuts in programs (meaning, fewer classes offered).

As a 23 year old student from Washington, I just could not afford the tuition and expensive rent (and I mean EXPENSIVE....we are talking $750/month for a roach infested studio and rowdy neighbors!).

My solution? Head on home to the Tri-Cities and finish up at WSU-TC. Although the transfer back to Washington from California cost me about 25 upper division credits, I know that my wallet and my sanity will be grateful.

It is going to be an interesting transition back to small(ish) town life from big city living -- but this decision was what I needed to get my education complete, and that is my top priority at this point in my life.

If you would like to read more about the CSUN budget cuts...visit this link: http://sundial.csun.edu/2009/07/budget-cuts-unexpectedly-take-away-classes-that-students-need-to-graduate/

Los Angeles can be a wonderful place for students hoping to go into the media and entertainment industries. I would be more than happy to share my knowledge with anyone who may be interested in going down that path!

Hmm -- that is my recent academic life in a nutshell. I look forward to reading everyones blogs!

See you tomorrow!