Media and Politics

On Tuesday the group covered the important issue of media and politics. Much it is reminded me of my media and politics class Pols 317. We learned about the cnn effect and many other news related things that the media does in order to present the news, whether its good or bad. The media has so much power in politics and I think that more people follow politics through social media rather than watching debates or making an effort to locate candidates and talk to them. Social media has really changed how we view politics. It has changed how candidates actually get elected and it is how they promote themselves now. Obama was one of the first to campaign through social media and it worked. His campaign reached younger, liberal audiences. Most of the younger generations are liberal and most of the younger generation speaks out through social media. Even celebrities are more liberal and some celebrities are using their status to really help outline key issues in politics and bringing those issues up through social media. One of the best examples of social media and politics as it pertains to me was the Emma Watson "he for she" campaign that she set out. I've used Emma Watson's feminism campaign in so many classes because it is such a prime example of media and politics and it is an amazing social movement. When Emma Watson made her speech about equality and women, so many people followed this movement online because much of the younger generations saw this and took it as a step forward in society. The younger generations are the ones who are the future and democratic/liberal parties know this so they campaign to those audiences.

Book Panel

One of the books was very similar to the last expert group on social media. The social media group talked about how people are constantly attached to their phones and how people are communicating less in person and more online. We feel the need to constantly be online because it's addicting and it creates this culture where we view other peoples life highlights and it makes you think that you're not good enough because your boring and sitting on the couch. The social media group is similar to one of the groups that did a book panel presentation because they talked about how we now expect more from technology and less from each other. I think that is very easy to relate to because we always expect to be online, present and with technology it allows us to be on constantly. I think we have high expectations of our technologies and we heavily rely on them. Another point that the group discusses is that we seem determined to give human qualities to objects and content to treat each other as things. This was an interesting take away because I feel like we do take things for granted and even though we could lose this technology we kind of act wasteful. I'm not sure if wasteful is the right word to use but it is one word to describe how we go through technologies. I think humans do a horrible job at taking care of things and we don't treat things with care because everything can be replaced. Like phone screens. People drop their phones all the time, so we are constantly replacing phones and screens.
One really important take away that the group brought up that I resonated with was that even though our devices may not be in use, we feel disconnected with them. In the social media group they showed a video that mentioned a "phantom vibrate" which mistakes an itch for a phone vibrate in our pockets. So even if our phone isn't going off, we always think it is. I know that if I ever leave the house without my phone I feel lost and confused which is an awful thing to be attached to, but its just the culture we're used to. We feel lost and separated from society when we forget things like our phones at home. I don't think anyone has the ability to lose their phone because it is always attached to them. The feeling of disconnect is something we all can relate to. Whether our phone is in use or not we clearly identify with the feeling of being without our phones, computers, any sort of technology.

Social Media Group

The social media group did a great job on their presentation! I think that they showed amazing videos, and the definitions were good and how they set up their discussion by talking about Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr was all great. Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking is the definition of social media found on Google. This was a great starting point. I also loved that they talked about the important points of communication throughout history. From letters, to the telegraph, radio, phone, mobile phone then today with all the different types of social media that is out there. There are so many ways to connect and there are so many things that we can use to communicate it is almost overwhelming. 

When we got into groups, my group discussed snapchat and every detail about it. I use snapchat almost every single day. It's almost a part of my daily life as is Facebook. And the need to always be present online. I see the same amount of pros as I do cons with social media. We always want to be online and we always want to be present that we don't live in the moment. We talked about without Instagram would we take that many pictures? I honestly don't think I would take as many pictures if I didn't have a place to post them. I end up deleting them, and I will admit to taking so many selfies just to find the perfect one to post. Like the 19 year old Instagram famous girl, who worked so hard to build "fame" on Instagram and YouTube that she destroyed her image of herself, and she destroyed who she is through social media. She wanted to feel value and the only she thought she could do that was through social media. The only reason I can really understand why she did it, because at 12 years old she wanted to be fabulous like the girls she saw on the magazines or online. 

Pinterest and Tumblr are infamous for showing pictures of unrealistic beauty that is photoshopped as are the magazines. Tumblr people I don't think are photoshopped, they are just naturally beautiful and honestly it does ruin peoples self esteem. By looking at pictures of these skinny fabulous women, it is becoming more and more detrimental to young girls health. It is ruining how they view themselves and how they value themselves. The Instagram star at 15 was posting bikini photos thinking it was what people wanted to see, so that was the only way she gained value of herself was through others. Instagram and other social medias like this continue to make us more and more narcissistic which is awful and we shouldn't aspire to be like that. Nothing on social media is really that real. With instagram we can post the highlights of our life, then Facebook we post the general parts of our life, Twitter we post our expressions and thoughts regularly, and snapchat is for things that can disappear quickly and it's more for fun. 

I think Snapchat has definitely become a bigger part of social media because it's more fun to send pictures and videos. With those you can add filters of time, temperature, funny faces, emojis and many other things! It's exciting and addicting because you get instant results, you have "best friends" and you can share things with other people. The only downside to it is the stories, when you see how much fun your friends are having without you, say like a concert or just a regular fun party and you are on the couch eating popcorn and watching movies alone, and you see your friends stories and you think that your life is so boring compared to theirs. That is what social media does. Everyone posts the highlights of their life when realisitcally they are doing the same thing as you, and that is something everyone should always remember! 

Class Discussion

In class on Thursday we discussed many things about Reed and Tapscott. We talked about online identity, new technologies and equality, internet in our personal relationships, internet and politics, and video games.
With online identity we talked about how we represent ourselves online. On Instagram people can post pictures that look professional and they are strictly for showing the best parts of your life. Facebook has also become more and more professional as time goes on. We share less and less information about ourselves. Facebook is again showing more highlights and achievements more than personal stories. It is also used to share news articles and videos that you think are interesting. Facebook and LinkedIn are becoming very similar in a sense that companies use both to test for recruiting and seeing if they are potentially good employees by what they post. We know that online identity is important because we are constantly being watched so it is important to keep everything private.
With new technologies, the digital divide is a present in our culture. It creates problems with equality and socioeconomic classes. The book review that was on Tuesday really talked about the digital divide and how big of an issue it is. Some people can't afford internet or laptops so it is an important issue to bring up. I don't believe that the digital divide has much to do with gender as much as it did 20 years ago. More and more women are entering the workforce as engineers, accountants, and jobs that use to be a mans job. Gender is not as much as an issue as it used to be. I do believe that new technologies create the digital divide between socioeconomic classes because some people can't afford the latest and greatest technology.
The presence of the internet affects our personal relationships in a few ways. One way is that we are always connected. We can talk to our friends without having to see them. We can communicate to people across the globe and stay in touch. This is a problem though because we become attached to our phones. When I'm hanging out with friends they are always on their phones talking to other friends. That is where the presence of always being connected affects our personal relationships. But other than that I think that it is used for communicating and talking to each other.
The internet definitely helps with politics unless it is ignorant friends posting on Facebook about the election and taking their parents views and not doing their own research on the candidates. During the time of elections I always have friends that post their views about politics on Facebook and it is incredibly annoying as they don't always know what they are talking about. So I personally choose to avoid Facebook during that time. I do think that the internet is a great tool for candidates to spread their campaign. Obama was the first one to really use internet as a tool for campaigning. Instead of going town to town, candidates can say what they need to say online and the readers can feel closer with the candidate and the candidate can reach a wider audience. The internet is great to persuade an audience if they are really using it as a tool. Most of the democratic party is taking advantage of the internet as most of the younger generations are online and they understand that and they think that most of the younger generation is liberal, and they aren't wrong.
Video games was the last thing we talked about and we talked about if they make you less or more violent, understanding or learners. I personally think that if the person playing video games is violent before they started playing video games, then they will be violent during the game and after the game. If the person isn't inherently violent when they start video games they will come out without violence. The only thing that I can think of that is bad about video games is that it desensitizes people to things like war and violence. But other than that it is okay in the grand scheme of things.

Ubiquitous Computing

Pervasive computing (also called ubiquitous computing) is the growing trend towards embedding microprocessors in everyday objects so they can communicate information. The words pervasive andubiquitous mean "existing everywhere." Pervasive computing devices are completely connected and constantly available.
The group that did the presentation on ubiquitous computing did a great job at helping the class understand what it is. The discussion was most helpful. In groups we had to choose things in certain spaces that were ubiquitous computing. The five groups were home, wear, automobiles, commercial and healthcare. In the particular group that I was in we discussed automobiles. 
The first question on the discussion paper was: what are some technologies that would be considered ubiquitous computing. We thought about GPS, self driving cars, keyless entry, automatic parking, automatic breaking, temperature control, bluetooth, self monitoring sensors. Many of these technologies are now built into our cars and they are always on and always present. Since these technologies are built into our cars it is built in our minds and we don't have to think about the mundane things. We don't have to think about unlocking a car door because the keyless entry allows us to be near the car without actually unlocking it manually. Cars with automatic parking and breaking are good features for distracted people. Self driving cars would be amazing for drinking and driving because it would be the best safety feature in the world. I loved Darion's argument that he brought up during class though that so many people get speeding tickets and that is tax money and they would rather get money than have people be safe. Self driving cars would be fantastic and Google has proof that it can be safe and every accident that the Google car has been in has been because humans aren't good enough drivers. 
We also discussed the pros and cons of each aspect of the automobile ubiquitous computing. One of the pros is that it makes life much easier and you can be distracted. Bluetooth for music and phone is brilliant because people can answer phone calls in the car if the phone is connected to the car stereo system. 
The biggest con is that people get used to it. People become familiar with backup cameras and sensors and blind spot sensors that if we transfer to cars without it, there could be a huge accident because we have become use to things being done for us. If technology fails, we forget how to do those simple things like brake and parallel park. 

Book Panel Presentation

In the first book panel presentation they discussed peer networking then had us get into groups and discuss it. The social media platform we discussed was Groupme which is an app for texting and messaging. It is incredibly useful for many things then it isn’t great for other things. It is a mobile group messaging app owned by Microsoft. It was launched in May 2010 by the private company GroupMe. In August 2011, GroupMe delivered over 100 million messages each month. By June 2012, that number had jumped to 550 million. It creates an equal platform for group messaging across different phones. With Groupme you get texts from everyone in the group message. That is both a pro and con because you want to keep updated in the conversation but then you’re getting billions of notifications.

I personally thought that the second book was more interesting. The author brings up the digital divide and how being digitally connected becomes more critical to economic, educational and social advancement occurs each year. More issues brought up throughout the book is that no, not everyone has to be on the bandwagon of technology but the more “plugged in” you are, the better off you will be. Monroe suggests that everyone should be connected to the internet. It is a personal choice to keep up but everyone should be connected. The areas that are not connected are called the “have nots” and they are the rural areas and central cities. Which isn’t wrong because inner urban cities are clearly lacking in technology as are rural areas. So it could be a personal choice to lack of opportunity to be connected which creates a riff, therefore brings the digital divide. Technology and latest technologies creates divide between people who have the right thing aren't behind. Technology is crucial to learning. Another issue brought up in the book by Monroe was the impact of race. Social interaction through language differs among socioeconomic classes and ethnic groups. This is interesting because socioeconomic classes and ethnic groups are studied frequently on use of technology. So the race and cultural differences can cause a rift in literateness and it all has to do with technology. Culturally there are differences between classes and technology which makes it all different. So while we do live in the Net Generation, not every has access to the internet which is interesting because I feel that everyone in all my classes and schools is accustomed to technology so it’s crazy to think that not everyone has access to the internet. Something brought up in class was if the information was outdated. The book was written in 2004 and then now we are using it in 2015. To me, most of the information is still relevant and important. We clearly are still stuck with the digital divide and it grows each year.

Virtual Reality

The virtual reality group did such a good job on their presentation. I loved so many aspect of it! There was a lot that they covered and the fact that they had an oculus made the presentation so much stronger. The oculus is probably the future. Soon we will only see through simulations and it will be awesome. We probably won't but it's still a cool idea.

I think something that was interesting was the history of virtual reality. It started as early as 1940 and is now on the road to perfection. I think that the history of virtual reality affects how we look into the future of virtual reality. I think that because people will believe that virtual reality is a game and for entertainment then there's the argument that virtual reality will be used for medicine, journalism, education and just improvement of life in general. I think that is the direction that technology is definitely going towards. I think that the beginning of virtual reality really started with games me it was for entertainment! I think when arcade games came out in the 1980s those were huge because it was into article and exciting and purely for entertainment.

The YouTube 369 videos I thought were great! I mean they had some flaws but it is a great introduction to virtual reality. I found that when I moved my phone the simulation moved with me which was something new to me and it was pretty cool. Virtual reality is something that is such a new idea that most people probably don't think too much about it. I do think that since companies and people are posting these kinds of videos about virtual reality they are opening it up to everyone and everyone has the ability to use it and understand it. The 360 degree video on YouTube is such a smart way to advertise the oculus and it's a great way to get people interested in virtual reality.

While people were experimenting with the oculus, I could see what they were seeing and it was amazing to see what technology can do now. I can imagine that being inside the oculus that everything around you sort of comes to life. I think it's fascinating that technology has the ability to do that and transport us into the virtual reality life. I believe that virtual reality will be helpful with education, journalism, tourism and medicine. I think that virtual reality will change how we look at current technology. Derek talked about how virtual reality could support doctors appointments without really being at the doctors which would be a game changer in how doctors appointments work. I think the idea of virtual reality is great but there's not quite a market for it yet until more people get on board with it.

Tapscott Part 3

So today in class we discussed chapters nine ten and eleven of Tapscott's Grown Up Digital. Chapter nine talked about politicians and chapter ten talked about the Net Geners and volunteering. These have so much in common. In chapter nine we discussed the seven guidelines for government leaders and internet strategy. Tapscott discusses how the government uses the Net Geners as a strategy and embraces the internet. Something we talked about in class was how the politicians use social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Politicians can use Facebook and Twitter to share personal and close information so that the users can feel closer to the politicians. There isn't as much face to face interaction with the politicians so it makes sense that social media is the platform they would use to reach out to people. Fundraising is also something we mentioned in class and how the old style of fundraising has changed within even the past 20 years. So the Net Geners have figured out that politicians effectively use social media to reach out.

Chapter ten talks about the ways Net Geners work effectively for civil society organization. The first thing I personally noticed was that the title sounds condescending. The advice in the list wasn't too far off but the way that Tapscott presented it was a little condescending. Something I did agree with was "let them develop your web strategy". Tapscott talks about how Net Geners can help online and he's not wrong. Online we currently have all of these strategies and sites that we use to help others online. We have websites like Go Fund Me where people can donate and the way that it is set up makes it easy to share and gain more funds. Also the guilt trip is something that was very true. Guilt tripping and bullshitting on the Net Geners does not work.

Chapter eleven he gives advice to Net Geners. Personally I thought that the first piece of advice seemed a little rude. "Go to college". Not every one can afford college without going into super debt. I do get the idea he's going for and I understand that the idea and capability of learning is more important so school is a great idea. I think the be patient at work tip is great because some things take time. Learning doesn't happen overnight and it could take time. Overall his advice is sound and reasonable and a bit ahead of its time. I don't remember when this was published but I do have a feeling that his advice is helpful and will be passed on to the next generation and still be relevant. Especially the last three pieces of advice. Don't discount experience, aspire to live "a principled life of consequence" and don't give up. Those last three tips are great and are the pieces of advice that you pass on to friends, kids and the next generation.

Mediated Spaces

Today the expert group presentation was on mediated spaces. After we counted off into fours, we went to different spots on campus. The bookie, ground level of the cub, main floor of the cub, and the stadium. My group went to the stadium.

In the stadium we went over what we're allowed to do and how that's all mediated. So we first went over what the stadium walk like when its full and usually at football games. We noted that there isn't any formal dress code. At a bar you would be required to wear shoes, shirt and pants and all that. But at a football game people can wear whatever. I've seen girls wear swim suits, dresses, and I've seen guys that don't wear shirts. Something else we noticed was how you can scream in the stadium but it is socially unacceptable to just yell profanity even though I've seen it happen at games. There's also no drinking allowed in the stadium but there is a beer garden in the field behind the stadium. So there are mediated drinking spaces. Then we talked about how the space was organized. We all know the field is in the center and it is to be the main attraction and focus. But something else I noticed now is that in high school there is usually a track around the football field and now in college there is literally just the field as the main stage. There is just the field and the bleachers, lights and TV's are all based around the football field. There are also sections of the field that are marked. For example there's a section 28, 27 and so on. Then the seats are also marked as are the rows. But on a larger and social scale there is the student section, visitor section, alumni and guest seating. There are also box seats where people can sit covered and warm during cold games. The student section isn't assigned seating it's socially acceptable to stand on the bleachers and they aren't really used for the purpose of sitting and watching the game. People usually only sit during down times like half time, and before the game starts. The stadium is also set up with the football complex on the side that was created just for the football players. They have their own gym, huge locker room, restaurant and everything they need to be successful. The audience is the students, alumni, visitors and any football fans. Another audience is the audience watching on TV. The technologies that are used throughout the stadium are the lights, scoreboards, screens, and the audio (speakers, announcer, canon, etc.). These are all factors that contribute to the cougar football experience.

Tapscott Part Two

Focusing on education, business management, cosumerism and the family, the Net Generation has become efficient and skilled at these cultural institutions. With education comes the value of learning. Today lectures are becoming less effective because students can't pay attention. The thing about education and technology is great but it also has a downfall. I think that with the internet the Net Gen gets instant results and it is instant gratification. Reserach has become simple because research is easier wtih access. We become smarter. And by smarter I mean we adapt to the changes and we adapt to using technology and becoming very skilled it at. This Net Gen is great at focusing on particular interests but blur out everything else.

Business managemet use to be face to face networking. Now with technology we can upload our resumes and apply to places online. With LinkedIn companies can recruit and students and graduates can reach out to other companies. Wtih business managemet it has become more that the employer is required to have all this knowledge and skills when they apply to jobs and then they end up teaching the boss how to apply it to the job.

With consumerism in class we talked about the shoe shop. Remediated shoe buying online versus in a store. Online there is much information, reviews, etc. But when you walk in a shoe store you get your foot measured and then the sales people will sell you the highest quality shoes, and you get the shoe smell, you get the sale and people will contiue. Buying on Amazon is easy and people can live without the struggle of communication with the sales associate. Keeping people online means the online companies must have great company service. There is also customization when you can shop online. There is something faster and more convienent if shopping is done online. Online retail gives you more choices. Especially when you don't live in a large city and dont have many shopping options.


"The power of the Web to decentralize knowledge has prompted a profound shift in power from the producers to the consumers. Net Geners have increased access to information about products and services, and they can discern true value more easily than the generations before them. More than ever, to compete in the marketplace, firms need truly differentiated products, better service, or a lower cost, because deficiencies in value cannot be hidden as easily. True value is evidenced like never before" (Tapscott, 195).

In this quote Tapscott uses the Web the power to the people. This is true. Because of the freedom of the internet, browsing is virtually free for everyone and it is easy to simply share information. The internet has a shift to put the power in the peoples hands. Literally. Everything anyone needs they can Google or research. This is more valuable than anything. In a recent TED talk I watched, it was mentioned that everything we have on our computers is literally cherished and when we lose it we feel a strange sense of loss. We didn't lose anything but a screen but we lost all the information it held, all the information we could find immediately and all the photos and videos and memories we stored behind our screens. This is value. We value the things we save and see online and we cherish them now more than ever. The new and younger generations are firmly relying on these products and see less value in certain things. I know that when I lose or break my phone that I feel this odd sense of loss and I feel as if I lose so much of my life. Even though it is easily replaced, I still feel this weird sense of loss.

Something else I thought was interesting about this the "turning consumers into prosumers". "Thanks to the Web 2.0, companies in just about every industry can turn their consumers into producers—that is “prosumers.” Prosumerism is more than an extension of mass customization, customer centricity, or any of the other terms that boil down to companies making basic products and letting customers tweak the details. It’s what happens when producers and consumers both actively participate in the creation of goods and services in an ongoing way" (Tapscott, 208).

The idea of prosumerism is an idea that if online users share their consumerism then that idea will spread. So the idea to turn consumers into producers is smart because people in marketing can know what the Net Gens are thinking and doing and searching. This creates as Tapscott says the creation of goods and services that continue.

Tapscott

Tapscott's reading was very interesting. What was discussed was freedom, customization, scrutiny, integrity, collaboration, entertainment, speed and innovation.
Freedom is something we are all aware of and used to. Communication and information are some of the most basic things that are free to us. We have the internet which creates this unlimited amount of information that we have to filter through. We also have the internet to communicate through and it is all instant. What is also under this idea of freedom comes everything that the internet lets you do, and I want to relate it to consumerism and online shopping. Online shopping is one of the biggest problems I struggle with because there's always something I need or want and online shopping has so many options that cater to that need. "Net Geners seek the freedom to change jobs, freedom to take their own path, and to express themselves" (Tapscott). This quote kind of expresses how the internet gives a new generation time to understand themselves and express themselves in a better way.
Customization was an interesting because everything in the digital world is about changing and evolving. That is why Blackberry stopped becoming a thing. It stopped evolving and changing. Being able to customize even the smallest things like wallpaper, ringtones and screen savers can change how a person views the digital world. "Millions around the world don't have just access to the web, they are creating it by creating online content" (Tapscott, 35). I think that the amount of customization is great and it means that people are able to change and adapt to new ideas and new technologies which creates more advancement and the pattern continues.
Tapscott talks about how there are new scrutinizers. In class we talked about caution, hoax, and how there's more to fool us on the web. So older generations "marvel at the consumer research available on the internet, Net Gen expects it" (35). So the Net Gen is targeted by many companies and they know it. I know that the websites I visit follow me and what shows up on my news feed in Facebook on the side of the ads are items that I have previously visited. So the key here is to be cautious of what is being opened on your computer and everything that is being tracked.
The integrity was an interesting section because I could find myself really relating to it. The internet created an issue with stealing and copyright because everything could be downloaded and watched. Pirate Bay and YouTube is one example of how people are able to steal things offline but in class, the idea that people won't buy music on itunes but they will pay $100 for a ticket was an interesting concept. Because of the internet and access we have to free music brings the issue that is...we are cheap. That's it. We're too cheap to buy an album and pay for all their songs but we have no problem dropping up to $150 on great concert tickets because we value the live music experience. But we won't support the artist online. This is why Spotify has become so great. I use spotify every single day and it has changed the way I listen to music. I definitely find Spotify worth paying for because I get the student discount which makes it $5 a month for unlimited music. I'm not buying individual songs and I'm not stealing them. I am paying for an unlimited amount which is great.
Collaboration was something mentioned in Grown up Digital and I reminded me of the Smart Swarm that I previously did a book report on. It was a very similar idea just online. Facebook, Go Fund Me and other things like that are used all the time because of the simplicity of it. It's easy to use and easy to share. Speaking of sharing, there is also Google Docs that are used to share and edit documents. So people could be in a group project working on a powerpoint or paper, and everyone can edit, make changes, etc. So Google Docs is a huge advancement in collaboration online.
Speed and innovation to me kind of go together because technology has innovated quickly. The innovation kind of ties with collaboration, speed and entertainment because it includes all of it.

A Better Pencil Part Two

“Readers have questioned the validity of written documents since the technology of writing first came on the scene” (Dennis). This is incredibly truthful. In class we talked about how when writing was first a thing, only 5% could write and the other 95% followed what the 5% wrote. So the 5% of people that could write were royals and writing rules and structures that everyone had to follow so it wasn’t always skepticism but with time as more and more people were able to read, more and more people could question what they were reading and the validity of it. New technologies bring mistrust which is understandable. Today when we Google something, we get about 10,000 results on one particular thing. I Googled the word “search” and about “15,240,000,000 results appeared in 0.57 seconds. This is insane. How do you trust each source? How do you know the authenticity of each search? We covered this in class “is seeing believing?” and I don’t think seeing is believing. Since the invention of a paintbrush things can be made what we want them to be. From the first few weeks of class, we were shown medieval paintings and modern photos. Medieval paintings are great because they are historical but the painters can paint the flaws out of people and make them appear to be prettier/better. With photoshop it is the same idea. Things can be created to look perfect when that isn’t always the case. As Baron says “technologies let us recreate the world and also lie about it”.

In chapter 8 Baron discusses writing on screen. Something that was interesting about this chapter was that without the technology of writing things like governance, education, culture, arts, businesses would not exist the same way. With reading and writing online we become a more efficient and faster world. So much is happening with the digital revolution it’s almost scary to see what will happen next. With the invention of the computer, the computer has been able to shrink to about 2.00 pounds and still function well. Since the invention of the mobile phone, it’s gone from the size of a brick to having a handheld palm computer. So obviously the advancement in technology has helped us improve. In chapter eight the author also discusses instant messaging which is a game changer in communication. Instant message works in real time like a phone call and it’s so simple to use and people can talk for hours on this for free. I know when I was in elementary school I would use AOL AIM all the time. I would talk and connect with everyone and all my friends and we would make plans on there to meet up because we didn’t have cell phones yet. Then I got my first phone in middle school and that changed and people stopped using AIM. Now there is a way to instant message people on Facebook, snapchat, almost anything you do, you can talk to a person “directly” via instant message.

In chapter nine Baron talks about how everyone is an author. Because of the internet people can read and write whatever they want and they can be published whether it’s in a blog or ebook. So computers enable humans to write whatever and publish anything online and people can connect to it. It seems almost impossible to make it now with so many people able to read and write, so to write something that stands out and can pass the test of time like Harry Potter or Hunger Games series is very very difficult. It is extremely hard to get noticed with more and more people being published and writing. When writing first came about, not many literary works were saved because very few could read and write. This is why we study Chaucer, Shakespeare and other classical literatures because they are such timeless pieces of writing that everyone reads.

A Better Pencil

A Better Pencil by Dennis Baron reminds of a lot of what Ong discussed in his readings. Reading the first few chapters of Baron's A Better Pencil, I noticed many similarities such as chapter one is titled "Writing it Down". Baron discusses how Plato was one of the best-known critique of writing. The new technology of writing was thought as weaker and not as "real" as speech. Writing was also a one way type of communication and it was not as interactive. As time progresses we learn that writing can be reliable. We also discussed in class how only 5% of the population during the dark ages and medieval times were literate while 95% of the people were not. The number of literate people grew as time went on and was found to be a form of reliable information that was useful. To be literate during the middle ages meant that you had power and made the rules. Today we now see literacy as a requirement. We do learn that things change over time and mostly for the better when it comes to writing technologies. There are sacred texts, laws, tickets, everything important gets written. Chapter three goes into detail about the pencil. The pencil first appeared in the sixteenth century Europe and Baron compares the use of a pencil back then to a computer and a telegraph now. The use of a pencil was for communication purposes. This chapter also includes the computer and the eraser. What I got from reading chapter three was that people discovered and made use of this new technology but that meant adapting. The new technology allowed room for editing and erasing words that were written. Chapter five was mainly about old writings and the clay writings then the type writer. What was most interesting was that in the past writing was an art form and was used for rules and entertainment. In the modern world we use computers to play with effects such as colors and fonts.

The big take away from these chapters is seeing how much humans have adapted to writing. In class we discussed that today we write the most that history has ever written. Rejecting change has been a social pattern in history but then in the end, acceptance of the new technology eventually happens. Baron uses the example of an eraser as a technological advance. He also uses spell check. I remember learning how to write and more importantly we learned how to edit. Modern writing has become more and more efficient.

Things Fall Apart Part II

Something that we discussed in class was orality and literacy in language. Language usually reflects culture. On the board we talked about oral accounts and how culture is passed down. Communication is important in every culture and causes barriers between other tribes and cultures because some things have different meanings. In Achebe's Things Fall Apart you know that this was intended for the West to read more than Nigerians.

In the second half of this book we see the main character Okonkwo a few years in exile. What stood out to me was during his seven years in exile, before he returns to Umuofia he prepares a feast. He regrets that he did not increase his status and influence in his own group. What really stood out to me was that he deeply regrets spending time with un-masculine people which is what I discussed in most of my last blog post. “Does the white man understand our custom about land?” “How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad" (page 129). This happens in chapter twenty when Okonkwo and Obierika are talking about the arrival of the colonialists. What I got from this chapter was that Obierika seems to strongly suggest the authors opinion about the new missionaries and overall colonialism. The "white man" disregarded the Igbo way of life. This reminds me of a Ted talk I watched in my other class. It was this man that had an idea of "one laptop per child" and he was basically just doing a sales pitch about how children in countries like Cambodia, Ethiopia, Peru and other countries with limited resources and he thought he would try to give these countries laptops. Though these laptops had English keyboards, Nicholas Negroponte assumed that all these children would learn English and type and learn to program in English, not their native language. So this is interesting because us as Americans associate happiness with technology and money and we assume that smaller villages that don't have this technology are unhappy and struggling with life.

Things Fall Apart

Something I noticed while reading this was the struggle between change and tradition. The main character Okonkwo seems to be resisting political and religious orders because they aren't manly enough and he probably thinks he won't be manly enough if he joins with them. I think seeing the cultural change is interesting because then you see how Okonkwo's fear how his society is changing and that losing the status due to cultural change will pretty much change his world. I think that it's interesting that there was Christian value in parts of this community. Many of the villagers had European influence and villagers were also excited about the new additions that missionaries brought which I thought was super interesting. So in this community the European influence dangers the traditional culture of farming, harvesting, cooking, etc. Once upon a time this was a way of life and that was what they needed to live and survive on so now Achebe talks about how these traditions are mostly for storytelling and how English is leading to the end of these traditions.

Back to Okonkwo's masculinity. I saw this as a theme from what I read because he sees how his father is and he fears that his son will be like that, and it just seems inherent. We read about how his dad beats his wife and all these violent actions that his father has. So now Okonkwo's idea of manliness is matched with aggression and anger, which is obviously awful. I wonder if his dad was different, if he would have a better or just different idea of an image of a man would be. But since his father is beating his wives and threatening their lives, he has no other idea of what kind of emotion to display.

The way this was written was also a bit confusing because I feel like language is a huge barrier and having that translation from orality to being written is difficult to understand. In Things Fall Apart you see the African formal language and how it is difficult to translate to English. I think growing up we learned that Africa has many different languages. I believe that translating old stories in any language into written English is difficult. Stories started out as being told and passed down by ear and oral. So to have them written could be difficult because when something is spoken it could mean seven different things and then in writing you are limited by words. I just wonder how much is missed in translation. Even today in modern languages like French and Chinese for example, much can get lost in translation. So since Africa has many different languages, I can only imagine what it was like even from village to village, what the communication is like. I can imagine that some villages stay very consistent and can understand some things, but some things can get lost in translation and have different meanings, etc.

Ong; Second Half

In the second half of Ong’s book, there is a similar pattern that follows the rest of the book. On page 154 Ong discusses literary history. “Literary history has begun to exploit the possibilities which orality literacy studies open to it. Important studies have reported on a wide scatter of specific traditions treating either their primary oral performances or the oral elements in their literary texts (page 154). In the second half you see a shift of spoken language to texts and manuscripts. In the first half Ong discusses speech and language now that has moved to literature and the history of that.

I personally loved the portion where Ong went over the history of literature. Written language is something that has been created and evolved many times. Starting with medieval literature there has been many writers at that time that read their work out loud which built rhetorical style. Since Medieval times I can imagine that stories are told and passed down orally then eventually written by someone who has the skills to record it which is why some stories still live today such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

“Over the centuries, the shift from orality through writing and print to electronic processing of the word has profoundly affected and, indeed, basically determined the evolution of verbal art genres, and of course simultaneously the successive modes of characterization and of plot” (page 155). I chose this quote because I think there are many different ways of understanding it. You see a shift from orality to writing, and even this shift takes so many centuries. Then when writing was invented there was the ability to make copies of a writing which also took a long while. Currently, we have the ability to make copies on command and through technology. Language turned to text which then turned to technology. The ability to electronically process words has strongly affected humans and the learning process and the comprehension of what is being read. The part of this quote that I was a little confused by was the “verbal art genres”. I feel like this could mean different things. Art itself can be applied to many things: painting, décor, architecture, literature, etc. Genres are characterized by similarities in form, style or subject matter so genres were created as a way to classify the type of art. Verbal is something spoken. When taken apart I understand it, but putting verbal art genres together confuses me. Unless they were talking about how reading a story out loud creates the successful story telling of characterization and plot. What is also interesting is that before there were stories there were songs. In every religion there are songs sung for a purpose. Ong says “the oral song is the result of interaction between the singer, the present audience, and the singer’s memories of songs sung” (page 154). This is true in all cases. 

Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word

For my first blog post, I decided to king of skip around the first half of the book and bring up parts that were particularly interesting to me. So reading the first half I found bits and pieces of each chapter that I wanted to look into.

“The new awakening in recent years to the orality of speech was not without antecedents” (p. 28, Ong). In chapter two Ong discusses oral tradition and how beyond the Old Testament that oral tradition has long existed, then proceeds to the topic of Homer which I find particularly interesting. In other classes when I’ve discussed Homer there have been several ideas of what or who he actually was. Maybe he was a poor poet or a great or genius one as Ong suggests. What I never thought of was that maybe Homer was more of an occupation rather than a person. Because The Iliad and the Odyssey are epics that were not done overnight and neither was the bible which had several authors. The idea that Homer was more of an occupation does bring complication to the prefabricated parts. Transitioning from the history of orality to when words are written and reviewed and fully literate did not take much time.

 “Fully literate persons can only with great difficulty imagine what a primary oral culture is like, that is, a culture with no knowledge whatsoever of writing or even of the possibility of writing” (p42, Ong). The possibility of writing has allowed humans to have power over most things such as names and better form of communication. Since an oral culture has no texts everything was probably heavily memorized. This is interesting because even before the invention of cell phones teachers and older generations would say they had to memorize certain phone numbers to call and always remember to dial. I currently only have three phone numbers memorized from my phone because I no longer have the need to memorize certain things because the phone does everything for me. This portion of the reading stood out to me because it just makes me realize how much of the newer generations are familiar with digital communication and less familiar with oral communication.

 I’ve had the conversation about communication in digital space in many different classes. We’ve talked about bias, race, sex, and just overall how people communicate in digital spaces. People do act differently according to which digital medium they are using. It’s just something interesting that everyone should consider!