Artifact #10

The article I chose is Out There in the Dark, All Alone, written by Manohla Dargis.  This article talks about different ways movies are viewed today and how numbers have drastically decreased throughout the years as far as the amount of people who go to the movie theaters to watch movies.  "Comparing the 90 million who went to the movies each week in 1948 with today’s audience, which hovers around 23 million — Matthew Sigman, a self-confessed “big-screen film fan” from New York, wrote in with a quibble." Most people today would rather sit at home and watch movies that they have purchased on DVD or watch them online or through netflix or even on their cable channels.  These ways of watching movies are more comfortable, more convenient, and most importantly, a lot cheaper.  Back in the 40's, movie watchers could only see new movies if they went to the movie theater, and after the movies were in the theater, they disappeared.  Today, if someone likes a movie, they can purchase it and watch it as many times as they want to.  We have the luxury of being able to re watch old movies and new movies as well, but back in the 40's if they wanted to see a new movie, they would have to go to the theater.  


Some terms used in this article:
on-demand era: time period where we can watch movies any time we want through tv channels, online websites or movie companies, for example, netflix
nickelodeons: a movie theater back in the day that charged 5 cents for admission
cinema: the art of making films or movies


Movie prices have become so high that I hate going to movie theaters because it ends up being $20 after you've bought your ticket and maybe a soda and popcorn.  It is absolutely ridiculous, but if I stayed at home I could rent a movie for less than $5 and get a soda and popcorn from home.  Many people are resorting to this and I believe that the decrease of movie goers will continue as more technology is introduced.  Technology makes it too easy to want to go out and spend the money to go to a theater.  Also, like i said before, watching a movie in your own home is more comfortable and more convenient.  You don't have to deal with the other people in the movie theater and if you needed to pause the movie for something, you could, unlike in movie theaters.  More and more people are finding watching movies in their own homes is so much easier and a lot less expensive.  
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/movies/the-24-hour-movie-and-digital-technology.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&emc=eta1

Artifact #9

The article in the New York Times "The Spirit of Sharing" is a article about museums becoming more and more developed and being technologically up to date.  The way these museums have become more and more technological is helping their popularity and their visiting rates.  The stuff that museums like this one have on their website make it very interesting for viewers and it makes the viewers more and more interested. I know that if I got on a museum website and was able to watch a teepee being built, i would for sure want to go there and see it in real life.  The author of this article stated that they are not trying to make their museum website to fit in with the latest fads, but they instead are transforming the websites and even the museums to make them more appealing to the visitor's eyes.  If museums in St. Louis began to go with this idea and make the museums and websites more interesting, more and more tourists may travel to St. Louis to visit these museums.  Also, the younger generation may also become more interested in the museums and would increase the amount of visitors coming through the museums.

Artifact #8

This video was very interesting because searching for health tips online is becoming very popular, but also, according to this video, interactive website to help with health related issues and games to learn about these issues are also pretty popular today.  Turning issues about health into video games for kids to learn about issues they have or need to be informed about is a great idea because, like they said in the video, it makes kids less scared of the "big doctor." I think this is a very good idea and makes learning about health facts fun for kids.

Another topic the video talked about was health tip apps that are available 24/7 on smart phones that are pretty popular today.  These apps are interactive, some you even get feedback from an actual doctor, and all are pretty reliable apps.  These apps are making it easier to find out information that is usually only available by going into a doctor's office.  But one thing I wondered about this is, are people making fewer doctor's appointments because they simply turn to their apps to find out what is wrong with them?  The video was not exactly about that, however, that could soon become the case. More and more useful items become available almost daily, and these two, the apps and the interactive games for children, seem pretty helpful and very educational.

Artifact #7

This article "Professors Use Technology to Fight Student Cheating " talks about the things professors have started doing to prevent so much cheating in their classrooms.  A cheating rate of 50% is a little too large for comfort, in my opinion.  Yes this data was from 2002 and the percentage has dropped a little recently, but I still think that cheating is a serious issue.  I, personally did not see an issue in my high school with cheating by plagiarizing for papers or looking answers up online for tests, but then again we never had online tests, so I guess that was a way for my school to eliminate the problem of cheating in that way before it even started.  But then again I know cheating by copying homework, looking off of other people during tests, etc. does happen, which is still a serious issue.  Noone is benefiting from someone else's work, but that obviously will not be realized until one day they are struggling through their job that they cheated through college to get.  Cracking down on students is a great thing that needs to be done for students to learn their lessons.  It is unbelievable the ideas kids have come up with just to cheat.  If they would spend that time studying or actually doing their homework, they would be a lot more successful in their academics.  

Artifact #6

This video "I am anonymous" was a very interesting video and some interesting information was included with this video. Anonymity is very important and is seen less and less today.  Very rarely can someone post something on a website without having to be a member of the site, which means having a username, which is viewable by anyone who looks at the article or whatever it may be that someone commented on.  Speech is a big part of our freedom and if someone does not want to be known for saying something, they shouldn't have to be.  But also, there are so many people on a website that some people may think, why does it matter if we have to put a username by our posts because it is not like people would know who we were or anything?  But the example of the guy who abused his cat is a great example.  If something is said that could result in serious charges or get someone in big trouble, they can be tracked down and found.  This is scary to think about, but it is also very interesting because it is good to know that people who think by putting stuff online cannot be tracked down actually can be tracked down and hopefully punished for whatever they have done.

This site that the video talked about is a great site because people can say whatever they want, but it can be deleted if it causes any conflict.  People are free to say what they want, in limitation, and it gives people a great feel of having this freedom of speech.  I found this website very interesting and it put some interesting information out there and made me realize a few things about anonymity I had not realized.

Artifact #5

As I listened to the video "Thank Sex for Making the Internet Hot" I was pretty struck by the different facts that were stated.  First, it doesn't surprise me that Facebook and MySpace, social network sites, are the top visited sites on the Internet today, but what did surprise me is before they became the most visited sites, pornography sites were the top viewed sites.  Another thing that surprised me was how online shopping and pornography are sort of related and how one led to the other.  I never thought of these two as being sort of related because, in my opinion, they don't have much in common at all.  Pornography is not commonly heard about except for maybe on the news or something, but it still does exist which is scary because it means people are still watching and viewing it, but most likely keeping it a secret.  I mean, who would want to be out in the open about watching porn, but it is still scary to think about since it still is pretty popular.  Social networks are not pornography sites, but some people do go too far as far as what they are posting on there.  This is unfortunate, too, because social network sites are designed to keep in touch with others, but of course it has to be taken too far and inappropriate things are posted there. It is unfortunate how popular pornography still is today.  Also, it's weird to think that pornography influenced sites like Facebook and MySpace to be created, and that it sort of started online shopping.

Artifact #4: A and B

Between the two videos, I found the first one the most interesting.  At first, I thought the person was just in a daze and like bobbing back and forth or something.  It took me a while to realize it was a robot; it took me until the robot started talking to realize this.  I found it very intriguing that a robot could be that humanistic; it could definitely be mistaken for a human if it just did not talk.  It is very interesting to me that robots are being made like this today, and makes me wonder if shortly there will be robots like this used in every day life. I am actually pretty sure they will become used more often, but to what extent and for what exactly.

And for the second video, I was bored and had to ask myself why someone would make a video about that.  For one, so many people use mechanical pencils today, and for two, who does not know how to sharpen a pencil, but better yet, who would get online and look for a video on how to do this? Also, along with people using mechanical pencils, if someone does use a pencil like this one, they would sharpen it with an electric sharpener.  But I guess this object has developed and become better too like every other form of technology.  So, in a way, this is an example of technology and how it is advancing.

Artifact #3

In What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr, a few great points are made.  Multitasking is a huge factor with the internet.  When on the internet, I know very few people who do one thing at a time.  Currently, while doing this, I have the weather website tabbed, Facebook tabbed, gmail, my blogger dashboard, and a few shopping websites all up in my window.  Yes, this is a bit ridiculous, but I always find myself getting distracted thinking about something else I need to look up while i'm on the internet.  This is an example of how our world is today.  This does not just happen with the internet, but it happens while kids are doing homework, while face to face conversations are happening, while people are working, etc.  There are not many people you will come across in a day that will tell you they go their entire day with only doing one thing at a time.  I know for sure that I am the exact opposite of that; there is not many instances where that is the case with me.  Is this a bad thing? It can be, yes, because if someone is watching TV, doing their homework, and texting, chances are the homework is not getting done or is being done poorly.  Multitasking does not always have a negative, no, but it is not always the best because one thing is always being pushed to the "least important" factor and is performed poorly.  The internet has definitely changed the way things are done today but it is not all negative unless one makes it negative. This does not effect our brains differently as far as being bad; if anything it will allow us to think more and be able to challenge ourselves to thinking different things at once.  This is not all good but it can keep the brain thinking.  The way that our society has changed can have some positives and negatives, but the internet causing us to be multi taskers I do not see as a negative.

Artifact #2

While listening to the video by William Powers and listening to him talk about Hamlet's Blackberry, many things popped into my head.  I realize how "Blackberry" or "smartphone" has become a every day word.  Cell phones and technology are used by almost everybody today and if they aren't, then that person is deemed "disconnected." This term of disconnected was used a lot by Powers and this being because it's very true.  If someone does not use technology every day or have a cell phone or computer, they are missing out on big events. While just about everyone is guilty of using technology so much, there are critics out there who find it ridiculous that technology has just about taken over. Go to a mall or a movie theater and just sit and people watch; chances are you will see just about every teenager on their cell phone and even adults on their cell phones or at least holding it expecting something to come in.  Like Powers mentioned at the beginning, taking out a cell phone to check it is a habit that everyone who relies on their phones has acquired.  I am guilty of this in so many ways.  As I was watching this video, my phone was sitting next to my computer so I could see right away when I received a text or phone call.  I am the worst at constantly checking my phone throughout the day.  Because the world has become so reliant on technology, we can't take ourselves away from it for very long periods of time.  Technology also takes away from family time as well.  I know my family is guilty of this sometimes, but many families today will, instead of sitting down together to eat dinner, make dinner, set it on the table, and allow their kids to grab a plate and go into their rooms so they can continue to watch their TV show or finish their video games or get on Facebook.  Technology has taken away from family time as well.  Technology and the use of it needs to be taken down a notch sometimes so that things like family time don't become nonexistent. Another point Powers made in his video was about technology taking over paper.  Technology has taken place for textbooks in some schools, newspapers for many people, and in many other ways as well.  Yes, there will always be a need for paper for at least a few things, but for the most part technology will rule over paper.  And this is because of how ruling technology is in today's society.  Technology is a great invention and is very helpful for many many things, but we are at a time when we have to question if it has become to much.

Artifact #1

This article states a very good point on how reading the newspaper online has become so popular and how the internet is a dominant source of information for people today.  I prefer reading the news online; however, if I find myself with nothing to do when the news is on or I happen to be in the room where the news is on, I will watch it because I find it interesting.  I do find watching the news interesting, but I don't ever seem to catch it on time or, honestly, I would sometimes rather watch something else.  I believe that the main reason for the decrease of news watchers is convenience.  Some people may find themselves busy when the news is on; in the So since morning they may be getting their kids ready for school, in the afternoon they are probably at work, later in the day they might be cooking dinner, and at night they may be putting the kids to bed.  So, since they may miss the news on TV, these adults or even teenagers may look online for this information instead.  Numbers are going to continue to increase because computers are going to soon take over every age group and every generation will be solely dependent on computers.  This article was pretty interesting and shocking at the same time because I definitely did not know that the numbers were as high as they are.

Units 1 & 2

Unit 1: Defining CMC: An Introduction to the Field
Computer Mediated Communication has been around since around the time of World War II, however, it has only began to be a big part of how we live for about twenty years.  Before the 1990's, computers were strictly used for practical reasons, like designing hardware, information processing, etc. unlike today where computers are used a lot for entertainment.  Computer Mediated Communication, the correct definition according to Susan Herring (1996:1), is "communication that takes place between human beings via the instrumentality of computers."  A few examples of what Computer Mediated Communication entails comes from the Journal of Computer- Mediated Communication and is electronic commerce, law on the electronic frontier, studying the net, virtual organizations, online journalism, CMC and higher education, electronic commerce and the web, health and new media, and many more.

The core concepts of CMC, rather than the key principles and issues, is communication, mediated, and computer.  The core concept communication is a difficult concept to exactly define besides saying that communication takes place with humans and with social interactions.  Communication is dynamic; communication has a sender, a message, and a receiver, but it is dynamic because what is being communicated could change after being sent out from the sender because communication is interpreted different ways.  Also, communication is transactional, which means that communication changes in conversation between two or more people.  Communication is multi functional as well, meaning that communication has many different functions and can affect people differently, positively and even negatively as well.  Lastly, communication is multi modal and the modes are nonverbal and verbal.  Both are communication, but communication does not always take place when speaking with someone; it can come with facial expressions, messages, etc.  Communication has many different traits and can be practiced in many different ways.

The core concept mediated, or mediation is the process of how something is transmitted.  Communication is mediated through interactions and through conversation.  Mediated is simply just how communication can be used and how it can carry on through different things, people, computers, etc.

Finally, the last core concept is computer.  Computers are a big part of our lives today and technology is virtually in everything that we have in our lives.  Technology is behind how we can see our tv guides, how we can see who is calling us, etc.  But in CMC, the part of computers that we will be dealing with is the "informatics" part of computers, which includes receiving data, transferring data, and storage.

CMC has become more popular in the academic interest more than anything, which includes much research.  CMC is very diverse and can involve many different things; it can include managing a business, storing data, browsing the internet for personal items, etc.  Humans today are very dependent on CMC and technology, and we see how these have such an impact on our lives and how we may not know how much technology we deal with on a daily basis.

Unit 2: Situating CMC: Technologies for Communications
The definition of technology, according to the International Technology Education Association in the United States (ITEA, 2000:2), is "how people modify the natural world to suit their own purposes.  From the Greek word techne, meaning 'art' or 'artifice' or 'craft', technology literally means the act of making or crafting, but more generally it refers to the diverse collection of processes and knowledge that people use to extend human abilities and to satisfy human needs and wants."

 When people think of technology, they think of computers, iPods, TVs, video games, etc. but technology is almost everywhere we look. Technology is behind the paper we write on, being able to print, a doorbell, lights, knives and forks, etc. Communication technologies today have been rapidly developing, at great speeds, and involves greater amounts of people and includes greater amount of information.  Newer technology includes: cable, radio, satellites, video games, home video, distance learning, broadband networks, etc. Communication technology is marked as 'new' if it is digital and computer based.

The Internet: Convergences in Cyberspace
The internet is a network that can be accessed globally and it connects millions of computers.  The internet started by securing information exchange in the event of nuclear war, then became popular academically with researchers exchanging their research via the internet, and then started to become popular through personal communication with email.

The web is a system of computer servers connected through the internet, and which supports the exchange of files formatted mostly in a simple programming language known as HTML (HyperText Markup Language).  The HTML files can be accessed through browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, etc. and can be edited to translate it from 'plain text' to formatted webpages.  The web is the most dominant factor of the internet; the web is part of the internet, they are not two separate things.

Cyberspace is a part of the internet that is actually what the internet consists of; the web and internet is the hardware basis of it all.  Cyberspace is about the people who use the internet and how they use it.  A commonly heard term "cyberspace world" is what our world can be referred to sometimes and it just means that the world we live in is a cyber world, which means that the world is a internet based society.

The internet consists of many sub-systems because the internet is not a single communication technology, but instead made up of many different communication technologies.  Internet and communication is used differently by every person because different pages (email, chat, home pages) have different communication goals.

CMC is changing rapidly and becoming more and more advanced daily.  Newer technology has many different modes, so technology branches out from the original invention, then moves on from there with the many different modes.