Week Nine Reading Reaction #3

I was thinking more about the issue of YouTube and how as a forum for receiving information, it is changing the way people receive and process information. After reading the article I tried to see how many times my friends and myself would be going on YouTube or referring to something that we saw on YouTube and the fact remains that we were using and accessing YouTube in numerous ways. Mostly there was an entertainment value associated with the use of the service, but even during moments when we were being entertained, I could see that the way we processed information was different. I was more visually stimulated by the images rather than the talk and I noticed that my friends and I were annoyed with the commentary that people would put up on the video they posted of something that was entertaining. No one was interested in hearing each other, just being entertained. I then began to think about how the want to be entertained could be limiting our ability to actually take in information that is more important for learning sake rather than entertainment. If entertainment is central to being stimulated, there could be some serious issues in the future because most information is not entertainment, but it is still important. There needs to be a balance and each individual should strive to meet that balance by exposing themselves to information that is informative and entertaining, but not necessarily together at all times.  

Week Nine Reading Reaction #2

There has been no shortage of discussion about technology and attention span. The article that we read this week touches on this issue of cognitive perspective, not just by considering the issue of how we regard information distributed by the media, but how the information is presented in various formats that forces our perspective abilities to change in order to understand the information that is being presented. When I think of the amount of information that is presented on a typical news program, it is almost unbelievable how much information is presented in the series of several minuets. When watching CNN, for instance, there is a report being given by a reported, a ticker at the bottom of the screen and information being posted in the corner. The amount of information that we are bombarded with in such a short period of times makes it nearly impossible for us to filter and makes sense of all that information. Our brains are not able to process all of the information in a  reasonable form so that we are able to make sense of the information presented. I feel at times that I am forced to blend ideas together because one story moves so quickly into the other, that I have not even had enough time to truly understand what it is I just was presented. I do not feel this allows any of us to be critically reflective of the information presented. If we are unable to be reflective than what exactly is the point of the information if at cannot make any reasonable impact.  

Week Nine Reading Reaction #1

This week's readings discussed a service that many of us use on a daily basis: YouTube. This form of new media has become the world's leading from of visual communication. Every individual has familiarity with the services provided by YouTube, but few of us really begin to think about the consequences of such a mode of communication. As the reading pointed out, this form of communication has spawned new forms of communication is a radically new manner. People are not simply posting videos or thoughts onto the internet; they are posting positions, theories and perspectives that inevitably travel to every individual with access, thus reaching and affecting people in numerous ways. However, what I find interesting is the idea that people are developing whole new forms of communication as responses to what is being posted on YouTube. People are offering commentary that influences further discussion and new ideas about how to view an incident. Everything that is becoming public is now offering new forms of media communication which create various reactions. Clearly the impact of such postings can have a positive or detrimental effect, but it nonetheless forces a reaction on the part of the viewer.  

Week Eight Reading Reaction #3

I was struck by this term that kept appearing in the reading for the week: "expressive privacy." I was not sure how exactly to take this idea, but apparently it is something that a great meany bloggers value as they post information about themselves on the internet. I was surprised at the level of want of privacy on the internet by bloggers because as an individual who is posting information, i should be prepared for any all all reactions from various people. The idea that the internet is a forum where people can freely express ideas in a manner that is free from invasion is too idealistic. Of course, who would not want to be able to freely express themselves and post pertinent information that is a reflection of their own development? However, people must think of the internet as a public space, just like a park, a street or an open public space. Just because an individual may be in the privacy of their own home, does not mean that their ideas a private. Once a person posts information on the internet, they have exposed themselves to the public and to all the risks that come with such exposure. Clearly having expressive privacy is ideal, but anything that is worth doing always comes at a price.    

Week Eight Reading Reaction #2

In the articles for this week's reading, the question as to privacy, identity and community are all topics that are within the notion of posting ideas on the internet. In most instances, people believe that what they post and the information they share is meant to create a forum where people are able to freely exchange ideas and information. The problem is that too often we are foolish to believe that every online community in which we partake is honest, open and is willing to create a congenial exchange. In some instances people look for ways to exploit information or to use ideas against one another. There does not seem to be a presence of etiquette or at least a sense of what of appropriate for some people. Then again the actions of some in a virtual world are reflective of the same types of action in a virtual world or in other cases because of the lack of consequences in a virtual world, people feel free to behave in various unbecoming fashions. I believe that there is a sense of patrolling that each of us must do but above all to agree to the policies that the internet is a forum of openness and exchange; a place where ideas are meant to flow and people are encouraged to be expressive.

Week Eight Reading Reaction #1

This week one of the readings looks at the issues of blogs. Most of us will recognize the points made in this article as it should be familiar to us since we have done this over the course of the summer. However, I was thinking about the issue of privacy which is pointed out in the article and many of the points that are made I thought brought up a couple of issues for me about blogging. The first issue was the types of rights people have on their blogs when it comes to privacy. In this ever shrinking world where every bit of information is collated, recorded and transferred, there seems to be very little hope of keeping information private. This seems even less so when you decide to put your information out into a public sphere, which I feel should not warrant any sense of privacy. I feel that when you decide to actively put information out into an arena where their is public view, the right to privacy can only be controlled by the person doing the posting. Ultimately it is up to the person to decide what to and what not to post depending on how much they wish to be revealed. The real control rests with the poster of the information.

Week Seven Reading Reaction #3

In thinking about the articles and chapter we read for this week, I am thinking that there needs to be more of a reflection on the role of technology and how technology ultimately never really develops from something completely new, but is merely an improvement from something old. It seems that the most technological or "advanced" pieces of equipment are nothing but the result of common sense and simplicity, which seems to indicate that such achievements are nonetheless the result of natural, evolutionary developments that simply develop because of that which already exists within our own cognition. Consider that whenever a new form of technology develops, it is sometimes referred to as the staff of dreams. Well, if we consider technology to be the stuff of dreams, then that which we use today is nothing but a reflection or an improvement of what was developed in the past, as our dreams are only a reflection of what we know or think to be true.

Week Seven Reading Reaction #2

I find the concept of "sight dominance" to be an issue from which there could be both great benefit and great loss. There is little doubt that our culture has become dominant in terms of being visual and because we have moved from an oral tradition to a visual tradition, there have been many advances. I am concerned, however, about the impact so much visualization is having on our ability to process information. There are two different types of processing that takes place depending on if the information is visual or audio. Given the fact that the majority of the information we take in is visual, the processing is different than audio. This may be one reason why there are more people are having problems with verbal communication especially with one another. People are so quick to avoid conversation in the name of confrontation when I suspect that the issue really has more to do with the fact that they are unable to verbally communicate because of the lack of an ability to process a thought and verbalize it. Visual communication does not require words to express emotion, however verbal communication more certainly does if it is to have any meaning. 

Week Seven Reading Reaction #1

The article Navigating Tecnomedia, makes clear that technology is not about getting rid of the old in favor of the new. Technomedia is all about the blending of various technologies into new and different ways of performing. The idea of technology be outdated is a way of thinking that prevents people from understanding how technology builds and shapes people. One central point to the article is the idea that technology as a development can influence people in different ways during different periods of development. Given that a certain piece of technology is developed, does mean that its impact will develop in a vacuum. This piece of technology may in fact influence people generations in the future who had little interaction with the technology, but nonetheless have been impacted by the technology and thus are influenced to makes impacts of their own. Technology is a process to which people experience the use of forms that influence and later their perceived world.

Week Six Reading Reaction #3

I am fearful that out improvement in this world will soon only be judged by how fast our computers and phones can download music or the latest bit of data. It seems to me that we are more interested in measuring "progress" through speed rather than through achievement of thought. I think that much of the progress that is given to technological improvements take away the process of gradually improving ourselves in a capacity that improves our minds. I think that too much technological engagement risks our ability to think because the processes which once required each of us to think, reflect and consider the next step afterwards, allowed each of us to be engaged in thought continuously. Now, that technology has replaced most of the thinking, I do not feel that society has replaced these processes with anything but a greater capacity to be lazy, demanding and to have a sense of over privilege.    

Week Six Reading Reaction #2

One area that I feel the readings brings up in terms of the relationship between machine and man but does not go into too much detail is the invasive character of electronic gadgets into our everyday lives. It is clear that the majority of our tools exceed what they were originally designed to do. Take for example the cellular phone. Most people do not use their phone for making calls, they use their phone to text, email, download or participate in an experience that is largely influenced by a "me" factor. However, I feel that this texting and downloading can be invasive and is making each of us more "robotic" and reactionary to our mobile devices. As soon as the phone rings or vibrates we have to check and see what has been sent. There seems to be an automation in our process of reacting to our technological connection to others.

Week Six Reading Reaction #1

People often have a tendency to think of the future as a positive experience; things will always be better later than they are now. This rosy sense of optimism that clouds the minds of many people is not wrong, but definitely shortsighted, especially when it comes to technology. Too often people demonstrate social success or cultural achievement by technological advancement. Unfortunately I do not think that just because the new iPhone has improved in speed that somehow life is better. Of course technology is helpful and has improved many aspects of life. However, caution must be exercised when thinking about the role of machines as we move to a more automated society. When people create machines that complete a task or no longer require a human element to be present, the process of thought and experience become absent from that act. I do not mean that suddenly the task is useless, but the interactive nature between man and machine suddenly becomes minimized in terms of mentally benefiting the human involved.      

Week Four Reading Reaction #3

I had the opportunity last night to discuss the idea of portraying an image through their online profiles through various social media outlets and it was interesting as to what responses I received when I discussed the idea of how the images that are uploaded and the background that is placed on the profiles can often be a projection of personalities they do not necessarily possess. I found that many people that I spoke to were not even aware of the images or the words they put up on their sites and how they were related to their actual characters. As I feared, people were often thinking about what they think other people would like to see, rather than being truthful to the characteristics they have in their life. I feel that many people place pictures and statements that are perceived to be what people want, but in actuality they are images that are just a reflection of their own wants and desires.   

Week 4 Reading Reaction #2

Just Like Me Only Better, is an article from which I was immediately struck by the amount of people who create alternative projections of their actual self when online. When I thought about this I considered the idea of an avatar or a made up character from which an individual could live out their fantasies. Of course this seemed so distant from my reality as I had never done role playing games online with characters nor did I know of anyone who participated in such activities. Then I thought about the social networks such as MySpace and Facebook, and all of the areas where you can create a profile. This profile can become an alternative projection of a self that embodies all or none of the characteristics that the creator maintains. I became concerned about this idea because what puzzled me was the amount of time, effort and thought that goes into the creation of an alternative identity. Is it really something that we have to think about and consider, or is it something that we simply just create during moments of passion, excitement and euphoria; all moments when actions are often the most regrettable? I think that we each need to consider the projection of a digital self and what sort of a projection says about who the creator is and how such a projection is a reflection as much as the world that we choose to participate and the world in which we must participate. 

Week 4 Reading Reaction #1

This week's readings touched on a subject that many who have taken Professor Coopman's Social Movements and Communication course will be familiar with and that is the role of alternative and local media as supporters of democracy. The section we read this week from the work Community Media, not only illustrates the significance of the media in developing and evolving communities, but also the crucial importance the media plays in the sustaining of democracy in this country. The very notion of a fully functioning and robust democracy comes in the form of a free and functioning press that is able to report on information that is relevant to the current state of being in the country. Alexis de Tocqueville first pointed out in his travels to the United States in the 19th century, that one of the markers of a functioning democracy was the free flow of information that was reported irrespective of reverence for the state or political affiliation. He found that the ability to print materials that were reflective of local needs or ideas was necessary for the interaction of ideas at all levels of government.

Similarly, this week's readings points out the importance of the the media, especially those that operate for local purposes without the permission of the FCC, to the benefit of keeping the spirit of democracy alive. Information is crucial in order for people to make informed decisions, and when such information is censored as is the case of many radio stations that must operate under the rules of the FCC or those that are unable to obtain a license because of the exorbitant fees that are charged to gain an opportunity to broadcast, such limitations halt the spread of information and therefore challenge the very principles of democracy that allow for the system to be maintained. The ability to maintain self-expression without censorship is crucial to maintaining the freedom of speech so cherished by the principles of our functioning democracy. When such limitations are imposed, the possibilities for further limitations become even greater, posing a larger threat to the freedom on information and the process of thought.

Week 3 Reading Reaction

This week's readings picked up from the readings of last week about the symbiotic relationship that is developed as a consequence of the interaction between humans and machines. This week's readings which included an article by the philosopher Marshall McLuhan, discusses how the medium by which communication is rendered is in fact that which shapes, controls and influences the message that is ultimately communicated. McLuhan gives multiple examples in his reading, but one the simplest that I found was his example of the movie projector. Before the invention of the movie projector, images were demonstrated as they actually happened in the present moment. With the development of the movie projector, time was now able to be sequenced and transitioned in such as way as to change the pace by which the information was received. This change in sequence, according to McLuhan, changes the sequence from images that were once demonstrated in real time to those that were now reconfigured so as to speed up the sequence by which the process on interaction changes. For McLuhan, this is significant because as he point out the content of a medium is always another medium, which I find deeply interesting and confusing. For McLuhan there is ultimately no beginning just a period of chaos from which medium is born and develops from one creative intent feeding off of another. The purpose of his article is to ultimately find that understanding the medium by which something is communicated is in it of itself a message and therefore must be considered to have an impact and a trajectory on how such a message is received. No medium is developed with a vacuum but has a purpose such a purpose renders the symbiotic relationship between the message intended and the message received affected in numerous ways that may not always be the perceived intent.

Week 2 Reading Reaction

After reading both articles concerning the symbiotic relationship between man and computer and the relationships that are being developed as a consequence of the increased use of technology as a from of communication. As a person who has grown up in the "digital age" I know all too well how the role of technology can become problematic. It seems that people are more prone to use their phone to text or send an email rather than speak with someone face to face. It seems that the ability to communicate is becoming a lost art and given the role of technology in our everyday lives, it is evident that technology is affecting the way that we think, such as the language that is used to communicate, ie, LOL, LMAO, or SMH. (If you do not know these terms good, you still have a chance to lead a normal conversation where you do not need a translation button to explain what people are actually saying.)

I feel that the readings brought up some central points in the relationship that develops as a consequence of technology. On the one hand you have a the programming aspect where humans have the ability to set machine to perform functions. Ultimately this is timely and can be challenging, but the ultimate ability of machines to aid in the achievement of humans is necessary. The problem for many developers and researchers is how to create within machines the ability to be able to anticipate or create reactions to situations that would allow for a thought process that is not simply linear. I am certain that this type of technology is being developed and in time there will be machines with such ability. My concern in the development of machines that are able to think rather than compute. The problem with machines thinking is that ultimately the question of consciousness comes about and I am concerned about machines that have awareness but not necessarily the capacity to process such an awareness as humans.

I do agree that in many instances the use of technological relationships through phone and email may be substituting the face-to-face relationships that are necessary for the growth of people. Although I do feel that in the world of information the ability to communicate is important, but the the need to reflect and process is more so important and I feel that it is limited because if people are in such a rush to communicate but do not reflect on what they are saying, then the words have little meaning or purpose.    

Introductory Post

Hello, my name is James Kinney and I am a third year student at San Jose State University. I am originally from Champaign, Illinois. I am one of three children, and I am the middle child. The reason why I am attending San Jose State University is because I received an opportunity to participate in collegiate athletics and receive an education. I am a Communication Studies major and I would say I have had a bit of experience when it comes to communicating with various types of people on numerous types of subjects. There is always more than one way to communicate a perspective and I intend to learn the various ways to communicate in this major. I am one of many whose main form of communication is by the cell phone as well as other forms of technology. I also use email, typed emails, internet based video chatting, face to face, and so on. Some of my interests and hobbies that I have include playing basketball, video games, listening to music, eating candy, and sleeping.