During the semester in our Capstone Seminar class we were asked to
find a trend that relates to digital cultures and communications. We
posted these trends on our "Digital Culture and Social Media" page on
Facebook. In this weeks blogs, I will talk about those trends, and try
to get a deeper understanding and reason in why it is important to not
only know about these trends but to realize that this is where our
society is heading. My trends for the semester is "New technology, and
how it is keeping us connected", and at first i thought i knew everything about "New Technologies" that were being invented, but i was very wrong.
Before i go deeper into this blog post i think it is important to
understand not only do these technologies exist, but they are rapidly
changing how we interact, and connect with each other. How these
technologies are affecting the youth, is one point that after looking at
all of the articles I posted on Facebook i really wanted to address.
One article that I found was about P.E. classes going "High-Tech".
Over 1,250 schools are using new software that tracks heart rate, and
physical fitness in class. This not changes how the class is run but it
changes how the kids participate in class.With technology so apart of everyday life for children, and teenagers it is not surprising that their has been an invention that disables your phone while driving. The Scosche Cellcontrol does just that and it allows parents to have control over their kids use of their cell phones while driving. It is really amazing to me that we have come to a point that we have the need to be connected so badly that people have to create devices like the Scosche Cellcontrol.
As a society we have come to a point where we even have apps that integrate with our cars. Sony and the company RealVNC have come together to bring android apps to the dashboards of cars, this will allow you to stay connected without having to dig into your pocket and retrieve your phone. Now no matter even if your at a traffic light you can stay updated with your circles of online digital cultures and be able to even update status's without even touching your phone, which for millions of Americans is becoming the most used device for social networking and web-browsing. Here is a short video of Jaguar's new blackberry integration technology.
NFC being used for a payment
These new technologies are not only changing the way we interact online socially, but it is also changing the way we live our everyday lives. One of the biggest Technologies (at least for me) is the use of Near Field Communications to make payments. In Ryan Kim's March 8, 2012 article on Juniper: NFC to reach $74 billion in transactions by 2015 he says "The use of NFC for payments is part of a larger surge in overall mobile
payment alternatives to credit cards and paper tickets, which is one of
the fastest growing segments of the mobile commerce market". The thought that all you have to do now is scan your phone across across a scanner at a store and never have to open your wallet is not only extremely effective but also groundbreaking.
When i began with these trends at the beginning of the semester, one question that I wanted to try to answer was why has all this new technology been growing so rapidly, and why is it being integrated with everyday items we already use? Personally i think the answer to these questions are right in front of ours eyes, and google's new Andriod-based glasses provides these answers. It is because no matter where we are, no matter what we may be doing we still want to be connected and updating on the digital cultures that even though you may want to deny, almost every person in the United States is apart of. These new glasses not only allow you to interact with people in your circles it gives you a real-time up to date location of your friends, so not only can you be connected digitally but in the real world as well.
Cybertecture Mirror
Many of the New technologies that i have talked about in this blog are ones that are used outside the home. Here is one that not only changes any room in your home to not only the most expensive, but the most efficient room in your house. The Cybertecture Mirror may change the way we use the bathroom or any other room you decide to put it in your house. With its digital display and fog-resistant glass you can go from your Facebook account to monitoring your heart rate.
In my 23 years on this earth I've seen glasses that help you see clearly, change to glasses that can let you know that your best friend is 500 ft away from where you are, from mirrors you cant see because of fog, to fog-resistant mirrors that let you update your Facebook status. I'm not only amazed at the at what has already been created to keep us connected, but what the next 23 years will hold for us regarding even "Newer" technology, and how it will keep us even further connected in the future.
This weeks blog comes from an excerpt from a reading we had in class on Wikinomics. To begin to talk about Wikinomic i think we first have to understand how we have changed as a society. In today's society we see a lot of people who are consumers become the producer through sharing their ideas with not only each other but the corporations and businesses who create the product. With ordinary people and firms linking up to drive innovation and success in new imaginative ways, we have come to a place where Businesses, Firms, and other Corporations have had to set new competitive principles also known as Wikinomics. These new principles help the organizations connect and share with their consumers like never before. (This video is one example of a company names Cener Health it shows how it uses the ideas from Wikinomics to advance their corporation)
Principles Of Wikinomics
With Billions of connected individuals actively participating in Innovation, Wealth Creation, and Social Development in ways we have never thought of, it is not uncommon to see firms incorporating these changes in their own companies. Before doing so four main principles need to be followed, and these are the same ones that give Wikinmoics an advantage in my eyes over other collaboration ideas. Being Open, Peering, Sharing, and Acting Global are all principles that in the last 5 years personally i have seen companies begin to incorporate into their businesses.
In the past businesses would use their own personal website to get information to their customers as well as any feedback that they might receive, but in today's society with the masses of people collaborating to innovate old ideas and create new ones we see these companies using web-based communities. These communities such as Twitter, Facebook, or Yelp are now being used more than ever by companies who know, that using Wikinomics is the new way to innovation. Companies now have the Facebook, and Twitter Logo's right at the end of their commercial. With companies being able to bounce ideas back and forth with consumers who collaborate with each other as-well, one question that is still left unanswered is, does Wikinomics show Promise or Peril?
Personally i think this show's more promise than ever before, with companies, and their consumer being able to interact and create the possibilities to change and advance the Arts, Culture, Science, Education, Government, and even the Economy. They say that "It Takes A Village to Raise a Child" well going on that note i think that "It takes Millions to Create Innovation".
Before i go into talking about video games, which is a topic that personally i can talk about for hours and hours, i wanted to show you guys a quick video on the "Evolution of Gaming"
In chapter 5 of our Digital Cultures book by Glen Creeber, he begins to talk about Video Games, their platforms, programmes and players. According to Creeber the "video" in "video game" refers to a "display device" using a bitmap or a digital image. Since i have been born in the late 80's video game platforms have changed from the very first Nintendo NES which had games such as Super Mario Bros., Mike Tyson's Punch Out, and The Legend of Zelda.
Super Mario Bros. 1985
Today because of all the new technology our video games platforms have some of the most advance devices out there. Nintendo's, Nintendo Wii is also at the top of these new platforms. Re-vamping older games like Super Mario Bros. into Super Mario Brothers Wii. The way kids are able to play and interact with their friends through these games have completely changed in the last 20 years, and i believe that this is mainly because of the platforms that are available. Early games platforms like the Nintendo NES only allowed two people to play on the same screen. Today 4 people can play on the Nintendo Wii at once and also connect with an online network that allows them to play with even more friends.
With all the new game platforms the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and X-box 360, there has to be a change in the "gamer". With older platforms only allowing a certain set of games to be played, and with "gamers" new demands on programmers to create new and exciting technology for video games I did some research on new video game platforms. One that i found was for the Battlefield 3 which is a new video game on the Playstion 3 and X-box 360. This new video game platform may be the way the video games will be going in the future.
This chapter of Alone Together by Sherry Turkle is one of the most interesting to me by far. In this chapter we are introduced to two women who went to college together Robin and Joanne. After college Joanne's dissertation research took her to Thailand were she only had email access. Joanne would send detailed email messages to Robin during her time in Thailand, her second time in Thailand on a new project she posted a biweekly journal on Facebook. In today's society many people relive life events on Social Networks, through online albums, and even video blogs. Robin said she was " jealous of all of the other readers." Robin and Joanne lost that personal connection that an detailed email gave them. The thought that even kids think the same thing was one that was new to me. I think that the name of the chapter says it all.
"The Nostalgia of the Young"
Its not uncommon to receive a funny text or email like this one from a friend, someone at work, or a sibling. Children as young as 8 and 9 receive and send text messages just as much as there parents do. So when this chapter talked about kids wanting to go back to the time "before texting". Brad a senior we were introduced to in this chapter said "digital life cheats people out of learning how to read a persons face" He says "online life inhibits authenticity." With technology today i would have to disagree with those quotes. Here is an apple ad for the iPhone 4s where a teenager goes from not knowing how to play the guitar to completely changing his personality by using Siri.
This not only goes to show how technology can change someone but also how we always are connected to technology. Another person we met in this chapter was Robin as 26 year old ad agent worker. Her job demands that she has access to her Blackberry to stay in touch all the time. She says that "If I'm not in touch, I feel dizzy, as though something is wrong, something terrible is wrong.". Is this because we have become so dependent on technology to get out of out bad situations, find out where we are, or remind us to go back to a certain place?
With all the new things that technology has to offer i think personally that it is the technology that is ultimately starting the role reversal that is being displayed in this chapter. Now kids are trying to get their parents away from the devices but it is so difficult because these devices are so apart of our everyday life. I do think that we live in a different life where technology connects us even if were right next to each other, and i think that it will be hard to go back to a time "before texting". Where we mailed each other letter and detailed emails only because it is so easier and accessible to send things online.
The title of chapter ten is the best description to give for a summary of this chapter and the topic of this weeks blog. In this chapter Sherry Turkle,I think, brings up one great point in the reasons we as a technology advanced society, and many teenagers who grew up in this society as children see it more efficient and beneficiary to text, instant message, or social network chat before making a phone call. One main point that i hadn't really thought about before reading this chapter is when Turkle said;
"When you can think about what you're going to say, you can talk to someone you'd have trouble talking to. And it doesn't seem weird that you pause for two minutes to think about what you're going to say before you say it, like it would be if you were actually talking to someone."
It never really occurred to me that this was the reason we decided to use these new ways of talking, and not just phone calls, because in just moments we can go from not knowing a answer to a persons text, to hoping on google to get the answer and send it in less than a minute. Texting and instant messages allows us to create yet another "persona" where we sound more perfect than we do in real life, because we are able to take those few moment in between texting to do so.We are changing so much that teenagers and kids are even being praised on their ability to text. After looking around i even found an article from the Wall Street Journal about the New York Text-Messaing Championship, and it was not surprise to me that a teenager Kate Moore 15 years old won the whole competition. Here's a link to the actual competition. Text-Messaging Championship
The thought that these kids grew up with these technologies and were taught how to use them at such a young age are very interesting. Turkle also talks about this in this chapter, she describes it as "Overwhelmed across the Generations" Many of these older generations who did not grow up with the technologies we have now, are trying to incorporate themselves and become a part of them. "The fastest-growing demographic on Facebook is adults from thirty-five to forty-four." She brings up a very interesting thought about those who migrated to Facebook, those who were older, and the so called "natives" those teenagers who grew up using Facebook and people from the older generations who were introduced when it was fairly new. One example in the "natives" vs. the migrants that we see in in this sprint commercial.
This guy has no idea how to do something on Facebook that teenagers, some of which are too young to even have a Facebook can do in two seconds. What i take mainly from this example and most of the chapter is that people want to be accepted, not only accepted but appreciated. Texting, and Social Networking not only allow you to do this but makes it easier by molding yourself into the perfect answer, the best joke, or the most likes. In today's society it seems like people rather be known for who they are in these digital worlds through, texting, and social media, than in real life.
"Why do we expect more from technology and less from each other"
I think Sherry Turkle gives a strong argument to that very quote in chapter eight. One main point in the theory that we are always on, always connected to media, the internet, and our socialnetworking is her focus on "Multitasking and the Alchemy of time". With The technology that we have today, an ipad can allow me to go from my social network apps to my school apps in two touches, and by just sweeping across the screen with four fingers I can swipe between apps that I have up which can be over twenty.
Sherry Turkle said "when media are always there, waiting to be wanted, people lose a sense of choosing to communicate." As a college student I see this almost everywhere, people are completely fine, sitting by themselves in the cafe, or waiting in a lobby, as long as they have that connectivity, that smart phone, that tablet, that iPad, any device that allows them to connect to their other life online. Sherry believes that this is because our "cultural norms are rapidly shifting. This is because kids today, I think kids equate growing up with getting the new device that will allow then to connect with the other kids that have that device in their "online social community". She brings up another good Theory that "our networked devices encourage a new notion of time because they promise that one can layer more activities onto it" we see this in many different advertisement commercials as well. Sprint offers 4G and 3G smart phones and in this commercial ad they're showing you all thi things you could be doing almost simateaneously by being apart of their network and purchasing one of their networked devices.
With this new "notion of time" it allows those people who have those devices to have these different devices to live in a what Sherry Turkle calls a "pauseable life". We see this almost everywhere, in the classroom, in restaurants, and even theme parks, people put their real life on hold to answer to their "connected" life. So "Why do we expect more from technology and less from each other", because we can do more. We can do anything these products have to offer from anywhere we want to do them at. With this accesisibility it is no wonder why we are "always on"
In the first chapter of our reading for the week, there was a general introduction to what a Cyberculture is. Even though this was a sort of overview for us, It still gave me a deeper understanding into cybercultures. I think one main idea that I got out of the reading is the understanding of how cyberspace is developing and changing the way we access the different cyber cultures we might affiliate ourselves with. In our reading it says that "Cyberspace is also produced by multimedia applications such as mobile phones, electronic surveillance, and video conferencing." Cyberspace is also called the "information space" the place were most Americans get theirs news, how to recipes, and even their horoscopes.
According to Encyclopedia of New Media (Kendall 2007) Cyberculture is defined as "cultures formed in or associated with online spaces." with these spaces being found in cyberspace, and cyberspace being able to be accessed from our mobile phones in our pocket, then does this mean that our Cyberculture is actually becoming apart of our everyday culture? I chapter one Nayar argues that "There is no one Cyberculture: because it has been so normalized, appropriated, altered, and domesticated into our everyday lives, there are in fact many Cybercultures, of which the Internet is perhaps the most common" With the addition of many 3G and 4G devices that allow us to access these Cybercultures from anywhere it is no longer a far fetched idea that Cyberculture is "attached to connected with, replicates, extends, and augments real-life conditions"
One example where we see these Cybercultures effect and change real life conditions is in the case of Kevin Durant and his tweets. On December 23rd Kevin Durant tweeted that he would be giving away shoes at various locations throughout Oklahoma City. These tweeted caused Traffic Jams throughout the Oklahoma City Area.
This is just one example of how Cybercultures extend real-life conditions and are becoming apart of our everyday culture.
The book in general, and especially this chapter treats the cyberspace environment as "not simply a parallel universe but as an extension and augmentation of the everyday one." We not only saw this in Kevin Durants tweets, but we see this millions of times a day when someone gets an invite on Facebook for a party, or baby shower. Our Social Networks and Cybercultures even change our plans for what were doing next Friday night. Cybercultures not only exist but they affect our lives in many more ways than we think, and some would like to admit.
One main point in this chapter that really got me thinking was the quote that said:
"This book does not treat cyberspace as an independent entity but as one that is connected to the material world with all its attendant problems and concerns. While cultures determine what form of technologies develop, these technologies, in turn, shape cultures."
This may have been the most enlightening thought that i got from this chapter, mainly becuase i believe it is true or so many levels. A couple months back i got an Ipad 2, and not only is this a new technology that I'm now apart of. I realized that the apps that i get not only determined by the different Cybercultures im apart of, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but i also changes the content that i share with those cultures. A great example is Flipboard, Flipboard allows me to find interesting media, news, and entertainment from many different brands and corporations like ABC News, Men's Health, and Rolling Stones. Not only can i access this at anytime, but i can also share them immediately with friends from various Cybercultures that i have linked with Flipboard. Being able to grab information from anywhere in one application and sharing it with all my friends and followers, not only shape how i get information out, but also changes and shapes my "Cybercultures".
In my introduction blog I tried to explain the reason we better need to understand digital culture. In this blog i think that it explained itself, Cybercultures not only are becoming more and more popular, but they are becoming more accessible, and i think that is the greatest reason why we need to better understand them.
Before i go deeper into this blog post i think it is important to
understand not only do these technologies exist, but they are rapidly
changing how we interact, and connect with each other. How these
technologies are affecting the youth, is one point that after looking at
all of the articles I posted on Facebook i really wanted to address.
One article that I found was about P.E. classes going "High-Tech".
Over 1,250 schools are using new software that tracks heart rate, and
physical fitness in class. This not changes how the class is run but it
changes how the kids participate in class.With technology so apart of everyday life for children, and teenagers it is not surprising that their has been an invention that disables your phone while driving. The Scosche Cellcontrol does just that and it allows parents to have control over their kids use of their cell phones while driving. It is really amazing to me that we have come to a point that we have the need to be connected so badly that people have to create devices like the Scosche Cellcontrol.
When i began with these trends at the beginning of the semester, one question that I wanted to try to answer was why has all this new technology been growing so rapidly, and why is it being integrated with everyday items we already use? Personally i think the answer to these questions are right in front of ours eyes, and google's new Andriod-based glasses provides these answers. It is because no matter where we are, no matter what we may be doing we still want to be connected and updating on the digital cultures that even though you may want to deny, almost every person in the United States is apart of. These new glasses not only allow you to interact with people in your circles it gives you a real-time up to date location of your friends, so not only can you be connected digitally but in the real world as well.
