I have no idea why "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" is the subtitle of this post. I think it's best not to question it.
Presentations
Tuesday, April 20
Mark
Sara
Cassie
Thursday, April 22
Dena
Michelle
Brittany
Mark
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1 - Mark - Online Enabled Environmental Activism
Cyberspace and online communities are the most vital part of Internet-based eco-activism.
Based on Mark's presentation, civic action, Environmental activism in this case, is enabled and encouraged through distributed communication/reporting often found in web tools and other internet connected tools. This not only leads to responses to activities through spoof and media/culture jamming websites, but it creates the ability for these movements to be more proactive. Combining disparate reports and whistle-blowing activity into one widely accessible pool lets people notice trends and address them before they become more significant problems. The Internet and cyberspace enable local activism that has global support. Examples of this, as noted in Mark's presentation: iPhone app - Ecosnoop, citizen journalism, whistle-blowing sites/blogs, etc.
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2 - Sara - Presentation of the Self in Cyberspace
So, this is a topic I tend to take issue with in general. Not that the argument is invalid or anything, but I tend not to agree with it. Yes, people represent themselves differently in different spaces online, but this also happens in day to day life. We typically take on different codes of conduct or styles of self-representation according to the context of any given situation. One behave differently with friends they've had since elementary school than with friends made via work, behavior around a boss changes, class behavior is typically different, etc. These representations aren't put-ons, made up, or completely faked, but rather a filtered version of what the situation dictates at any given time. I think if one acted without these filters all the time, they'd be considered anti-social or at least lacking etiquette.
Granted, in meatspace we have the opportunity to connect person's behavior in context A with their behavior in context B, so we can see that they have a full "character." Without the persistence and visual element, this is nearly impossible online, but I don't think that one's selected persona online is any less real than the meatspace personas that constitute one's full character. If anything, I think that online spaces have given people an opportunity to explore aspects of their real personality that meatspace situations don't support. In that case, we have to consider if the relatively low-risk environment of online spaces allows one to reflect an even more "real" version of themselves. Personally, I don't know if I'd go that far, but I think it is more appropriate to say that online personas can be very flat and focused out of necessity, but they're no less real or valid than personas in meatspace. A question to consider might be something like "Does anonymity/transparency online, by both the actor and observer, support very narrow interpretations of who people "really" are?
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3- Cassie - Social Networking Sites in the Classroom
I think the topic is interesting, but without much context of what it's like to teach, it's hard to make any real good points. However, as a student, I completely agree that incorporating social networking tools/sites into a class would be helpful. Questions of academic honesty and whatnot start to crop up when you bring remote tools like these into play, but those exist anyway. So, I'm not certain of social networking's viability to do "class work," but I think it would be good to explore how these tools can teach lessons that might be ignored due to state requirements and whatnot. Things like social skills, conflict resolution (via starting/stopping flamewars - a stretch, I know), etc. I recall there being a few social networking sites noted (WoogiWorld, A.R.D.P (I think that's my acronym for something longer), and Facebook), but it would be best to focus on one and show how it can be used to improve an existing part of the lesson plan or fill a gap that is overlooked, but increasingly important.
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4 - Dena - Social Networking Tools Don't Have Controls That Reinforce Real World Rules
This is a cool argument and a rather complex topic, but I feel like Dena has a good handle on it by picking out specific laws/rules that have attempted to regulate behavior online, but are ultimately just for show. Without enforcing Chinese-style filtering, user identification, and content guidelines, these things are practically unenforceable. I think Juile mentioned this, but my notes don't specify, but I think something to explore to support this is where the responsibility for actions lie. Obviously that's a difficult question to answer, but I think the complexity of the situation can help support an argument about the difficulty/impracticability of such an endeavor. Do we really want a UN of cyberspace that regulates how various sites/services can function?
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5 - Michelle - HCI is Promoting Migration to Cyberspace and Blurring Boundaries Between the Real and Virtual
I think everything fit together real well in this presentation. There was some discussion about how computers, software, and other systems are becoming increasingly anthropomorphized, which is incredibly important, but I think, as was noted in the Medotate example, it is also important to look at how metaphors are very important in making cyberspace feel more like reality (e.g. spreading things out to "move them out of the way" so you could focus on one document on the desk). After going through most of an HCI class already, metaphors in terms of actions and icons are an integral part of making people innately understand how something works and making people feel comfortable. It seems like this is already discussed through the examples, but that's another HCI "trick" that is important in accommodating migration to cyberspace.
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6 - Brittany - Location Based Advertising
This seems like a well researched topic, but I think there is too much focus on individual examples. Location Based Advertising (LBA) is certainly important for business, but rather than focusing on how or why it is important, I think it would be interesting to focus on where the information comes from, who seems comfortable with it, and why they're comfortable with it. Personally, I think the examples of it working are less important than why it works.
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7 - Mark - WoW and the Cost of Access - How Changing Modes of Monetization (in MMOs) Impact Communities
I think this is a really good topic and argument. As we do migrate more fully into cyberspace, these communities become more and more real. It's great to try to bring people on board, but when changes to accommodate new users are "overpowered," it doesn't "break" the game, but it can break the experience. There are several micro-transaction based MMOs and other online games that have this community division due to people being able to buy levels and loot. I also think looking at the way it changes learning within the context of the game is an interesting approach also. How can people learn these skills if it's given to them?
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