CARISSA'S BLOG

Final Blog, Task #10!

2009-06-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Part One:

Advantages:

Students love social networking, and this love can be UTILIZED by instructors to teach
Benefits of social networking include community, local & global, and immediacy
Gaming allows for student created content
Students can teach others in a virtual world
Ability to role-play 'new' identities (ie- can set up a research question and build a space to observe)
Benefits of second life: collaboration, creativity, authenticity, community, and engagement
Students can 'look through the world with a different set of eyes'
Games spark interest, while teachers include various content/questions/lessons around that game to enhance learning altogether

Constraints

Unavailability of technology for some less well off students/schools
Teachers who are unfamiliar with games/technology are less willing to try
Games as a distraction in the classroom if not used appropriately

I think that we should absolutely be considering games as platforms and venues for children and people of all ages because our world is becoming increasingly technological. Our institutions must follow, its the same with any media.. it slowly gets embedded in society. If gaming is the next 'new media' we MUST think about the benefits and repercussions as we have with any other media. Nothing is perfect, and gaming for learning does have constraints, but at the same time if we put enough care into figuring out exactly what those constraints are, we can work towards creating a system to make those constraints disappear altogether.

Part Two:
From researching for my paper about serious games I found that there are distinctly two main camps. One argues because games teach violence they cannot be used for education under any circumstances. And the other argues the opposite, that games do not necessarily teach violence and can absolutely be used in many different ways to teach educational lessons. I also learned that there is not a very wide range of research. Gaming is still a 'new media' in some ways and especially in regards to the attention it gets from the academic community.

Task #9!

2009-06-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

I have learned LOTS from this class.. Before 3P96 I think I was unaware of what an impact games have on the world we live in. I mean, I knew that they were more popular than ever but I never really clued in to how much of a major role they played in our popular culture, even though I am majoring in communications. I had also never heard of serious games before.. and I think its a great concept.

Throughout this course we have explore various types of gaming. I find that now I have a better understanding of different classifications of games. We started out with games like blockbreaker and my personal favourite poppit from pogo.com. Then discussed the social aspects of games on Facebook that allow you to play with your friends and in my opinion enhance the competitiveness. And eventually worked through role playing MMO's and virtual worlds. It is remarkable how much computer gaming has evolved, but all levels still continue to attract gamers of all ages.

I think that in my leisure time I will continue to try out second life. Even before this class I was interested in making an avatar since I saw Dwight K Shrute made a mini Dwight on the Office, and in class someone informed me there is an entire Dunder Mifflen (awesome) ! It is much more difficult to play than I had previously assumed and that must be part of the challenge to get going in second life. Its not all just given to you, as a gamer/player you still need to experiment to see how things work.

Part Two:
(Did this in my previous blog accidently...)

Task #8

2009-06-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Part One:
We watch sporting events as fans of hockey, basketball, football and so forth – just like we go to concerts to listen to our favourite artists; We go to movies or watch movies on DVD and so forth….

Can video games also be a form of entertainment that we consume in this way?
What elements should (or could) games contain that would permit an audience to watch, consume or passively play?

I believe that video games are already a form of entertainment that can be consumed passively, just as many spectator sports are. Elements that make video games watch-able are: music, custom characters, bright colours, & increasingly detailed graphics. A game’s narrative can be alluring to those not willing to play, and therefore still consumable through watching someone else play it.

Have you ever watched someone play a video game, MMORPG or be immersed in a virtual world? If so – what captivated you? What didn’t? If not, imagine what might interest you if you were to watch a friend or relative play?

Sure you can join in and play but sometimes it is just as fun to watch. I’ve watched video games before, like when my family got guitar hero a lot of the time I preferred watching my brother and sister play because they were about 10 times better at it than i was. Similarly, thousands have viewed the “fasted guitar hero player” on YouTube with awe. The music and the speed are hypnotizing and the skill required to complete the game are definitely admirable. Also, the suspense builds up- watching certain video games is similar to certain genres of film. Horror, suspense, thriller, drama can all be seen in commercial video/pc games. Role-playing games are often recorded and put up on guild sites and youtube because they are both creative and interesting- and not only to those who participate.

How is this different/same as other media we consume?
What’s the difference between consuming media and passive play? Is there one?

Video games are similar to other media we consume because it is a commercial industry. It is an industry made for profit, so even just the selling and buying of various games is a form of consumption. Video game consumers have taken it to another level, there is a relationship between the consumer and the producer that is not just a one way street. Modding, fan-made videos, and fan based forums are just a few ways that the people who consume games, also produce other artifacts of the gaming industry. Its hard to say whether there is a difference between consuming media and passive play, but I would argue that there is a small difference. The idea of consuming media like radio or television makes me think of a sponge soaking up water. It does not have to move or think to consume the water it interacts with. The difference for video games is no matter how passively you play, you are still playing, interacting. You have a small amount of control on the outcome or on what happens on your screen, and that is the difference.

Part Two:
Create an outline of your research paper with an introduction, discussion section (with your three points, theory etc) and conclusion.
Write some points or notes for each section about what you’ll discuss. Lay out your paper with what you’ve blogged about already.

Intro:

The video game industry grows exponentially on a day to day basis. Its many artifacts and unique culture has come to be a key part of societies modern popular culture. Gamers in our society are no longer a ‘youth minority’, as folks of all ages have come to take part in some mode of gaming whether that be on a PC, console, arcade style, or handheld. Just like every great medium, video games have weathered their fair share of controversy. Stereotypes of games and gamers alike have attempted to tarnish the medium as ‘brainwashing’ or ‘silly’. With the popularity and relevance of video games in our society, it is clear that they cannot be labeled in this way. They are now seen as a ‘new media’ and a multi-million dollar industry all over the world. This paper looks into ‘edu-tainment’- a unique mix between traditional gaming and educational learning. There is much hype to jump to the conclusion that educational or serious games are nothing more than a joke. But, we must be fair and give this medium a chance just as we have in the past with television and film that were also introduced into the educational system. Serious games such as the BBC’s Climate Challenge offer players a fun, strategy style game that incorporates environmental policies and action plans. Similar games for change tackle poverty, abuse, healthcare, politics, news literacy, economics and human rights. Why not have fun while creating awareness on a serious global issue? The question is, whether these games have a real effect on the player. Phonetically based games have been seen to dramatically increase a young child’s ability to read and write. On the other hand, there is the argument that games like Doom or Grand Theft Auto teach children to hate and kill. This is a very important issue to debate due to the prevalence of video games and portable technology on which to play digital games. Using uses and gratifications theory, cultivation theory, as well as agenda setting theory this paper will examine the impact of such games and the socio-political significance of their reach. Clearly, learning is possible through games and video games, yet there is still a strong argument whether games as learning environments are a negative context or a positive context. Do video and computer games hegemonically distribute information and knowledge to a passive gamer, or can we give these gamers some credit? Is there a difference between learning violence and learning about global warming? This paper will make the argument that there is a difference, and that educational gaming does have a place in our children’s futures with the ability to make a serious impact.

Body:

Explanation of Climate Challenge: what is it, why choose it

Methods: discuss game play, content analysis/experience, what is the process you engaged into analyze/make argument/answer research question?

Examine current arguments and debates revolving ‘violence versus education’. Strengths & weaknesses of both sides.

Elaborate on theories and research
Uses & Gratifications
-why do people play games? learning or entertainment?
-people actively seek out media content, and use specific media for gratifications based on interest
-choices are unique based on values, beliefs, interests

Cultivation
-1. Msg system
2. What are the dominant msgs?
3. Cultivation: understanding
-this theory is for TV, problem is that Tv is produced by few cultural elite
-internet use changes this theory.. producers are more diverse, could really be anyone. In this case it is a large media corp. BBC
-content analysis: dominant message ..environmental policy/understanding. The game does not necessarily provide an ideology or narrative but does target young voters which is significant
-heavy versus light viewers. TV only provides 1% of world.. what about internet?

Agenda Setting
-theory places audience in a problematic place similar to cultivation theory, BUT again the medium is different. Not just a few elite gatekeepers
-Framing: literally links to other environmental sites, media, video, etc
-effect on gamer: relevancy & uncertainty come in to effect. Gaming is interactive so relevancy may not be as necessary because the actions get you involved not the content as much as on TV

Discuss importance, why is it necessary to analyze, critique and think about, etc?
-Prensky’s generational gap: digital natives and digital immigrants
-technological world and effects of an information society
-future educational strategies.. will fun and learning continue to disagree?

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the gaming industry seems to be making the connection that educational games are not just a fad. The argument that digital video games create violent youth seems to lack evidence, and largely ignore outside sources. Looking past this, it seems that there is no stopping educational gaming. Video games and computer games have the ability to teach, but more research is necessary to understand the best strategies to carry them out. Gamers will accept knowledge as long as it doesn’t mean a sacrifice in the level of entertainment. Overall, there is a large difference in how gamers react to certain information embedded in their game-play. Cultivation theory and agenda setting theory have argued for a passive audience in the past, but with the internet and digital gaming as a new medium, these theories reveal that there is a power shift in the distribution of knowledge and information. I would suggest that there is in-fact a difference between learning about violence and global warming from digital games. Although, as seen in this research paper, there is a serious need to develop new theoretical standpoints that concern themselves with the internet and gaming. How much do younger generations rely on the internet for information, and in the near future it will be acceptable to ask how much do they rely on video games? These questions are going to be increasingly important as the information society blurs with our societies love for entertainment and technology. Governments must predict that the industry is changing, and incorporate policy to allow students an inclusive relationship with technology. The digital divide must also be faced, what about kids that cannot afford educational games? The bigger picture is that digital games represent something more than just a hobby, and their effect on gamers of all ages will change the way we have come to think about games in our culture.

Task #7

2009-06-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

Part One:
Do you belong to any online communities?

I belong to last.fm & blip.fm but have not really gotten into the latter yet.. I have twitter so I feel like I can just tweet about songs rather than blip them. Here is my last.fm profile! : )

Last.fm though is a great online community. I joined it because it keeps track of the music you listen to and recommends new artists based on your track record. I am currently scrobbling music from my itunes and my iPod.

It also tracks upcoming concerts and gives artist profiles. Through the profiles you can listen to an artist’s radio that includes their own tracks and track from similar artists. You can also play a “my library” radio or a “my recommendations” radio. Although, they have recently started charging users for the radio feature which is very unfortunate. I only have like 18 tracks left I can listen to for free. The radio was a cool option because you can tag and “love” certain tracks to remember what you liked/disliked. I don’t think I will pay for future radio services because with just a little bit more effort on my part, I can google certain bands that are recommended and listen to track off their website or Myspace, etc. I get a lot out of my last.fm and find that its a great way to discover hidden bands that change the way you listen to music. If I am ever feeling like I am in a musical rut, I simply log onto my last.fm and browse my neighbour’s artists (last.fm also keeps track of the ‘musical compatibility’ of other users or neighbours if the compatibility is high). I joined last.fm because my sister told me about it, and even though I don’t have many friends that use it I still like to use it. Its definitely easy to make friends with people over a similar taste in music even if they live halfway across the world. I guess if

you are very passionate about something that is how these online communities foster friendship/relationships and growth. I definitely wouldn’t be able to bond with people over a shared love of asparagus, but music is one of those things that brings people together offline and online, especially thanks to online communities like last.fm or blip.fm.

• Are virtual communities (3D) ‘real’ communities? Why/not?
• Discuss the benefits (what are they) to players/participants – both in the physical world & in virtual worlds (ie WoW) – of being in these communities (the Williams et al (2006) talks about this).

I am only part of Second Life because of this course, but I definitely think that it is a real community. Why not? I mean if people can fall in love via email, a virtual world is truly something spectacular. Second Life, WoW, Everquest, Runescape and many more virtual worlds offer players to build relationships around a variety of different interests. I think that to say a virtual world is not a ‘real’ community is similar to the outlandish argument about what constitutes a ‘real’ family. Gay and/or lesbian couples and families face discrimination because the so called definition of family does not include a homosexual definition, but the truth is, they are still a family with the same kind of loving bonds as a heterosexual family has. The definition of family has changed many times throughout history to include mixed families, divorced families, etc. The definition of community as we discussed in lecture is similar to that of family. And it too must adapt to new technologies, events, people, etc. Virtual worlds celebrate that community has not been broken down in a world where we no longer rely on our neighbours or on geographical location. Virtual communities transcend geography, age, race, class, and gender (most of the time). They allow for the ultimate community experience and foster casual, romantic, and business relationships along with many others.

Benefits to building community through virtual worlds can be seen online as well as offline. Williams et al. (2006) explains that WoW is like a team sport that contains its own rules, interactions, boundaries and social norms & practices. Virtual worlds are not meant to replace the physical world, but to enhance and complement it for those participating. Social capital is gained through socialization even in a virtual world. Some players benefit from finding an accepting community online to fill the void that is missing offline. Others connect with friends/family from the physical world and bring those relationships online. The flow is two sided, which means that online relationships can grow into offline ones and visa-versa.

Part Two:
Revisit what you’ve written so far about your research paper and formulate a research question or thesis statement (or key argument) for your research paper. You can either set up your paper so that it asks a question (research question) and then your paper will seek to answer it; or, you can make a statement or argument and then your paper will make/support that argument. You’ll need to think about – what is my paper going to be about? What’s the story I want to tell? This frames your paper and will go in the introduction of your final paper.

Research question: Clearly, learning is possible through games and video games, yet there is still a strong argument whether games as learning environments are a negative context or a positive context. Do video and computer games hegemonically distribute information and knowledge to a passive gamer, or can we give these gamers some credit? Is there a difference between learning violence and learning about global warming?

Task Six!

2009-06-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Part One:
Find a game (either one you’ve played or a website for a game), a trailer for a game on YouTube, a game advertisement etc. It can be any type of game on any platform. Discuss the characters in the game; connect with our discussion about gender, race & ethnicity – and femininity and masculinity. What messages are the characters sending? What lifestyles, values and points of view are represented in the message? How might different people understand this message differently from you?
Have a look at this video transcript (PDF)for some additional information:
YouTube: Game Over: Gender, Race & Violence in Video Games (trailer)
YouTube: Racism in Games: Controversy Show

First off I would like to point out that this Lt. Col. David Grossman from the ‘Game Over’ video is out of his mind. That video was super hilarious.

Quote #1: “Video games give you the skill and the will to kill.

They teach you to associate pleasure from human death and suffering, they

reward you for killing people. They take healthy play and turn it on its head.”
Quote #2: “Doom all by itself, even used with a keyboard is good enough that the Marine

Corps uses it to script killing in their soldiers.”

I do believe that games like Doom are used mainly as a team building exercise. ??

My video-game artifact is Terminator Salvation. The characters in the game maintain a soldier ‘save the last of humanity’ kind of identity. There are 4 main characters, two male and two female with one of the male’s as the leader. John Connor is a heterosexual white male leading the resistance (kind of). Blair Williams is John’s long time friend, and is a white female. Barnes I’m assuming is a black male (straight) and Angie Salter is the other white female who suffers from stress trauma. Interestingly, from the way the characters are dressed I can guess that Blair is a more masculine female than Angie. Blair is dressed in all black, tight clothing but fairly concealed. Angie is wearing white, loose clothes, has wispy brown hair, and a very low cut top seeming much more feminine. Of the two males, Barnes seems the most masculine as he plays up his bravery as an independent survivor while John Connor I would argue even as the hero has a more feminine edge to him as he has lost confidence and is only urged to lead thanks to Blair’s nagging. Compared to other video-games, the characters seem fairly ‘realistic’ if I can say that. Yes the women are skinny with large breasts and tight clothing, but not enough to be over the top. Is this reality? No. But, it does very well in comparison to other highly sexualized female characters. Similarly, the men are minimally sexual, Barnes shows off his biceps but John Connor is zipped up to his chin and has a fairly slender build rather than being a macho terminator muscle house. Even so, these images are still highly idealized images of America’s “heros” in the Terminator narrative. Problem? The player can only play through John Connor. I understand the argument that they want to make the video-game true to the movie but it only makes a white male available as the hero.

Race, gender, and class representation can be singled out in many video-games as a very problematic issue. It is a significant fact that the less identifiable a character may be as a specific race, class, or gender the more universally identifiable this character is for a multitude of users. It would definitely be in the game creators best interest to use this strategy, but it gets complicated for games like Terminator Salvation where they want to be true to the film. Then the question of race/class/gender is translated into an even more complex issue as it is present across multiple modes of media in our world.

Part Two:

Time to do some research for your final paper: find five (5) academic articles or book chapters that you will be able to use in your final paper, and provide a short synopsis of what the article is about and how you will use it in your paper/why it’s important.
List the five references in proper format on your blog.

1. Kurt Squire’s “Cultural Framing of Computer/Video Games”

This article sets up how video games must be utilized for an educational experience. Unfounded fear of gaming technology is restricting learning for students who have grown up gaming. Squire argues that much research providing correlations between violence in video games and violence in children is poorly conducted and very misleading. He cites Mitche’s experiment on families with Nintendo that actually brought families closer together in a way that was reminiscent of families orienting themselves around board-games or card games.

“Future study of gaming communities might focus specifically on the shared

practices, language, resources, understandings, roles that emerge through game
play.”

Squire says there is a growing disconnect between generations teaching and learning. Stuends become bored easily during forced learning with dry content, and this is where video games can be taken advantage of. Incorporated with outside research and other activities, learning based games could be a key part of the classroom.

This is a good article to use for my research paper as it argues in favour of educational gaming. It demonstrates the problems with current teaching methods and exposes the opportunity for games to evolve into teaching tools. These can also function outside the classroom as well, as Squire makes a case for the love to learn in general. Kids live learning outside of school and he explains in MMO’s they learn valuable skills.. for example learning how to play without being told. This makes for more independent, hands on, and capable learners with a healthy curiosity that is fueled by gaming specifically.

2. Willy C Kriz’s “Creating Effective Learning Environments and Learning Organizations Through Gaming Simulation Design”
Kriz explains that games allow for complex situations, to satisfy and develop complex problem solving. The most applicable part of the article is the discussion of theoretical knowledge versus practical experience. Games are able to simulate and enhance practical experience for problem solving and application. Kriz states that “passive reproduction of inert knowledge to active production of applicable knowledge” can be achieved through gaming. Kriz means by gaming, not video/virtual games but real life constructed games that can be either open or closed concept for varied situations (like a set narrative or a free one). I think that this is still a very useful article because it could apply to online games as well! The structure to enhance learning is very well thought out, and applicable to many situations. For example, he discusses how there is a gap between university student’s knowledge and practical skills. By applying simulated games to train or teach practical experience, this gap can be diminished.

3. Marc Prensky’s “Computer Games and Learning: Digital Game Based Learning”

Marc Presnky is a clear supporter of incorporating pc/video games into classroom learning. This source is a book chapter that discusses the reasons why and how to incorporate games into learning. He argues that games already are a tool for teaching, and that stereotypes that have been created about gaming are false and ignorant. Prensky says that there is a large generational gap between kids who have grown up with technology and gaming as a part of their lives and the adult teachers. He names the young generation “digital natives” and the older generation “digital immigrants” and outlines major differences in learning styles between the two. For example, digital immigrants will read instructions, whereas digital natives play to learn. This is just one of the many examples Prensky illustrates in this chapter.

This is a very useful resource because it attempts to answer the conundrum that I am explaining. Video games “teach” killing which is a bad thing, but video games can be used to teach in the classroom. Presnky offers that during video game play, gamers are constantly checking knowledge, rules, morals, in-game to that they they have learned from out of the game in society. He calls this “cross-checking” and suggests that this happens conscious and unconsciously. The message ‘do not kill’ is such a major part of our cultural context. Those who blame the Columbine shooting on Doom should read this quote:
“We have to be careful about buying into the rhetoric of people who blame Doom
for Columbine and ignore the fact that those guys were building pipe bombs in
their garage and their parents never noticed.” (Presnky, 108)

There are exceptions, who do not get the moral message from their parents or society but even still, video games cannot take the sole blame. Presnky adds that for a kid aware of societal repercussions, to learn to kill from playing a video game, would mean “overcome[ming] an awful lot of disconnects with the messages he or she hears in the rest of life.”

Prensky also offers suggestions on how to successfully combine gaming and learning from a game designer standpoint. Clearly, certain elements of a game encourage different way of learning. Theoretical learning is probably best in an open-ended virtual game that like a theory doesn’t provide one true answer. Climate Challenge which is about judgement, decisions, and process does a great job of incorporating management, ethics, feedback, strategy, balance, and practice into an easy to use strategy “sand-box” style game. Climate Challenge is a simplistic simulation game, as is very successful at being educational because of the amount of feedback you receive as a player. Reflection is a very critical part of the learning process. Also, because the game is turn-based which means the player can take as much time as needed to make a decision, it allows and prompts highly meaningful decisions from the user. Presnky adds that the animated character icons are universally identifiable rather than too specific to hinder player/avatar identification.

4. Richard Van Eck, “Digital Game-Based Learning: It's Not Just the Digital Natives Who Are Restless....”

Van Eck is in favour of digital-game based learning (DGBL). Some say that it will ‘academize’ previously fun games, others cite that learning shouldn’t be fun. Van Eck says that there is a struggle between the two, and our goal should be to create a synergy between ‘pedagogy and engagement’ in DGBLs. Relevent cognition can be enhanced with DGBL because it can be designed to construct a meaningful and relevent context for the information taught. This is preferable to formal instruction because there is no easily definable context that the students can pick out and usually leads to loss of attention, motivation, and interest. Play theory states that humans are wired to play in order to learn, from birth. Assimilation & accommodation theory explains that we assimilate information from what we have experienced in the past, and we accommodate information that does not already fit into a category or experience. When we use these thought processes it creates a cognitive disequalibrium & resolution for the individual. In games this process comes with testing and re-testing hypothesis and revision to increase DGBL.

Van Eck says the most affordable and realistic way to incorporate DGBLs in the classroom is to use commercial off-the-shelf games (COTS) like Civilization, SimCity 4, Age of Empire, and incorporate them into lessons. The use of these games in classrooms will further encourage big gaming companies to design class based DLGBs. These games are important because it is not only a teaching tool, but an artifact for teaching. Students can depict what is there, but also what is not, in what perspective was the game created?

Van Eck explains that there is a difference between media use and media integration in classrooms. Media use has no significant effect, whereas media integration into lesson plans and teaching strategies gives the opportunity to change the way students learn. This is useful of my paper because it takes ‘edu-tainment’ a step further where it can be extended to the classroom. It outlines why these games are so effective and how they can be utilized to be even more effective. The gaming industry needs to pick up the pace developing DLGBs for personal and class use because video games as a medium are finally being taken seriously.

5. Wells & Dudash "Examining Young Voters’ Political Information and Efficacy in the 2004 Election"

This article explores how young voters gathered information in the US for the 2004 election, and concludes that increasingly, young voters have used the internet as a popular resource for information. Fastforward to 2009 where internet use has increased exponentially, and young voters have been increasingly targeted in various ways including computer based games. In this case, Climate Challenge is targeted at young voters. As a game it is a policy based strategy style game that challenges young adults and teens to think about the environment in the context of political “solutions”. This article is useful to make a connection between voters and gamers, as the two go hand in hand at the age level targeted by the BBC’s Climate Challenge.

Task Five : )

2009-05-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

Part One:
Today’s readings talk about fans and their involvement in producing game culture. Provide a short synopsis of the articles assigned for today’s class, and consider the notion of participatory culture. How is this important to our discussion? How does this fit into theories we’ve talked about in relation to audience studies?

Reading # 1:
Fantasy Baseball: A Case for Competitive Fandom
Halverson & Halverson, (2008)

Fantasy baseball as postmodern fandom.. instead of watching sports as a passive audience, the fans are able to utilize old and new media. Traditional statistics gathering with online tools, forums, and communities. Fantasy baseball has gathered extreme press and popularity over the years due to its competitive factor as a game and the inclusion of baseball fan’s love of sports stats. It has become a culture that consumes and produces things such as books, membership clubs, advice blogs, etc. The article stresses that being a fan is different than being a fantasy fan. Fantasy players must view and understand the game separately from just a favourite team. Fantasy gaming becomes a participatory culture because players control elements of the fantasy game. They take on roles as owners/managers in position to make decisions. It includes elements of community as fantasy baseball players interact with other players via forums, places, and websites. The connection that gamers make to trade stats and offer tips becomes completely incorporated with Web 2.0. Also, fantasy baseball gamers are able to have control over rules of the game, for example some make hitting home runs easier in order to make the game more exciting.

Reading # 2:
Computer Game Modding, Intermediality and Participatory Culture

Sotamaa

Sotamaa looks at “new types of authorship, new distribution models and new relationships between producers and consumers.” He makes an interesting point that games cannot simply just be called readable texts because they cannot only be read or watched but they must be played, which signals the importance of gamers/players from the beginning. Game modding refers to gamer created designs or modifications for already popular games on the market. Gaming innovation by players need not only be technological, and can also instruct gaming norms & practices.

Gaming mods are not just fun little creations, sometimes entirely new games are created and sold due to the community of gamers working on them. The relationship is complicated between gamers and corporate game owners. Gamers as a participatory culture have been accepted now as a part of participatory production. Importantly, “a participant is never fully independent in her actions but operates only through collaboration and negotiation.” (Sotmaa, 15). Therefore there is still a complex power struggle between gamers and game owners, where game owners want to maintain some form of control over their product while still allowing and profiting off of gamer made mods.

Reading # 3:

Of Mods & Modders

Postigo, 2007

Postigo’s article is similar to Sotamaa’s as it discusses the relationship between game modders and corporate gaming companies. Importantly, the reading asks of the power balance/imbalance between the two parties. Are games more commercially profitable because of independent mods or because they were already a popular game, they attracted more modders? Either way, the mod phenomenon definitely pushes the shelf life of any game. Postigo concludes by noting that both parties benefit from the relationship of fan-modders and gaming companies... but that this relationship must maintain itself to be fair and embraced. Therefore, both must continue to benefit (association/popularity/references/money) The reading also touches upon participatory culture/production where game modders get together to form a community with a similar interest. When interests are not in favour for the modders, this community can band together to stand up to the gaming companies, if necessary.

Participatory Culture:

These readings clearly give examples of popular modes of participatory culture in our society. All readings reference Henry Jenkin’s work on participatory culture.

“Jenkins suggests that these trends are altering ‘the way media consumers relate to each other,

to media texts, and to media producers’.” (Sotamaa, 1)

All three readings concluded that neither the players/modders were independent or totally reliable on the game/gaming company. Importantly, gaming cannot be ignored! It is not just a phenomenon on YouTube, Facebook, or Flickr but participatory culture is an important part of gaming in our lives. These readings also work against theories that place the audience as a passive blob absorbing all of the mass media without hesitation. Who knew?!

Part Two:

Find another serious game that is the same theme/topic as the one you’ve chosen. Give the name of the game and a link; how is this game different or the same? How does it compare or contrast? Is one better or more effective (in terms of perhaps game play, game mechanics or raising social awareness) than the other?

Energyville

Task Numero 4

2009-05-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Part One:
This exercise is intended to get you thinking about identity in digital spaces, but also for some self reflection on how you might ‘present’ yourself in these spaces.

What MMORPG did you (hypothetically) decide to play?

What compelled you to choose this game over the other?

I hypothetically decided to play Everquest II because I knew someone who failed like 4 courses at Brock due to a World of Warcraft addiction and I did not want to hypothetically follow in his footsteps. Clearly, Everquest is the right choice.

What race did you choose – why? What appealed to you? What didn’t?

Kerra

Kerra worship the spirits of the land and those of their ancestors. Their often docile demeanor masks the fearsome and powerful predators that they are. Kerra are a large humanoid feline race, their bodies covered in fur with colors and patterns denoting their lineage. They are tall and powerful with great agility, their tails able to perform menial tasks almost with minds of their own.Kerra are a neutral race. Kerra who start in Qeynos are good, those who start in Freeport are evil.

I was drawn more towards good but figured choosing a neutral player would be nice because who knows, maybe I would like to test out my dark side. Might be more fun. Also, because tigers look badass and I liked the sound of myself being a 'tigress'. About the Kerra itself I was interested in the connection to the land in being an animal. They are beautiful but dangerous and unpredictable at the same time. I think that sounds like a lot of fun in a roleplaying environment.

What class did you choose – why? What appealed to you? What didn’t?
Ranger

Rangers are unrivaled in their ability to hunt foes and scout dangers in the untamed wilds of Norrath. Known for sneaking safely through dangerous territory, Rangers use stealth, perception and cunning to seek out enemies and fell them from a distance with a deadly volley of arrows.

I chose the class of the ranger because instead of just using their brute force they use “cunning, stealth & perception” which I think is highly admirable. Also adventuring through a forest sounds like something I would enjoy very much because I love the outdoors, even the virtual outdoors.

What would you name your character?
raassci- my name all jumbled.. sounds fierce though (silent c! like 3 sss's crazy, i know)

What kind of personality would your character have?
My avatar would probably have a personality similar to myself, kind and caring but I would embrace the Kerra and Ranger and be totally unpredictable and strategic about my gameplay.

Is this anything like your ‘real life/physical’ identity?
Yes but instead of just trying to please the people around me I might try to be more misleading, not in a negative way but in a more mysterious way. That would be cool.

Do you have any avatars/characters that you are using now in any type of video/computer game or virtual world?
No I do not!

Does your character/avatar’s appearance or personality really matter to you when you’re playing a game or when you’re immersed in a virtual world? (you can answer this whether you’ve played before or not or whether you have an avatar or not). Would it depend on what you’re playing?
Yes it would totally matter to me. I would want to be unique, not blend in with all of the other shmoes. Even if that means I would be singled out, it would just show me who I should not play with / stay away from. Its just like in real life: you don’t want fake friends. My appearance would be a clue to others who I am and I think it would definitely keep me more invested in the game. I would care more about winning or losing.

Part Two:

Thinking about the things you could talk about in your research paper – the discussion topics you noted on Monday – what theory or theories could you apply to your discussion topics (give at least two)?

(Cultivation) Symbolic annihilation: Cultivation theory says that heavy TV viewers opinions, values, and thoughts are mainstreamed by what they see and more in line with those presented in the TV world. To use cultivation theory with the Internet I would say that the games we play effect what we think about. Therefore in serious gaming, the effects must be great. Symbolic annihilation would be a key concept to discuss because it explains when something is not on tv it is not something that heavy tv viewers think about. Translated to the Internet, is there a difference now that serious games are present. Was the environment a victim of symbolic annihilation before Climate Challenge? And therefore is the impact of this game present simply because it is present.

Overall, this is an interesting tidbit but I don’t think it would be best for my paper because it kind of looks at the past. I would need to combine this information with something else

Uses & Gratifications Theory: says that people use specific media for specific things rather than using it passively. This theory challenges a passive audience so I would use it to analyze whether this game is used by people for a specific reason. Do players play it to gain knowledge or solely for entertainment. Uses & Gratifications would suggest gamers would play it for a benefit like knowledge. Does this translate into environmental activism?

This theory makes sense to see the cause & effect relationship between the game and the player. If people actively seek out media such as serious games, why do they? It is a strong theory because it challenges the passive audience. Its weakness would be that it is a ‘simple’ theory. Could be combined with dependency theory that says people need information form the mass media/Internet, and the more relevance the message the greater the impact. If the target audience is young voters, does the increased relevance mean a greater impact on that target audience?

Hall’s Cultural Studies: This theory says that the mass media manufacture consent for dominant ideologies. Interesting fact: this game is sponsored by the BBC (mass media). There are clearly strong ideologies being communicated through these serious games that are associated with ethical and moral thought. But are they?

This theory would be useful for my research paper because it could be used to analyze the usefulness of the game. Is this serious game just another part of the culture industry, or is it more grassroots, a challenge to the status quo? Does the game contribute to acts of hegemony (tells us whats important, what to think, what to do?) or does it revert hegemonic sources, and act as a vehicle to encourage the player’s independent agency as a citizen.

Task # 3

2009-05-20T09:28:00.001-07:00

Part One:

Digital Artifacts & Research Tools

Find a digital artifact: video game, PC game, virtual world, game ad etc

Sega Saturn console advertisement for system and various games.

Think of a research question – what do you want to know?

Why do women identify less as gamers, and why does the gamer stereotype perpetually maintain itself as a male only label?

What theory would you use? Why?

Feminist theory to analyze the advertisement. I would use this because my research question is gender based and the advertisement is very sexual and constructed for a male audience. I want to know about gaming stereotypes, so to analyze the advertisement with a feminist analysis is very useful to see how the company is targeting its gamer audience.

What kind of research method would you use to collect data & answer your research question?

I would probably attempt to randomly select gamers and non-gamers, ask them to fill out a likert scale coded survey and then construct 2 focus groups, one male and one female.

What limitations are there to your research approach?

Time expended would be a limitation, because the focus groups are complicated and it would take forever to transcribe the conversation and code it.

Also my sampling method would be limited because I could only complete so many focus groups with just myself as an interviewer. That means my sample size will be small and limited and it will be very important to choose a proper demographic and equal gender ratio.

What are some of the weaknesses of the theory that you’re using?

It doesn’t really give an impartial view of the advertisement, it automatically assumes there is a power issue (which there is). Harder to quantitatively prove, mostly qualitative research can be gathered. It would be better to also do a textual or semiotic analysis of the image/advertisement for a better all around research solution.

Part Two:

You’ve now been playing and thinking about your serious game.

What are some of the things you could talk about in your research paper about the game?

The target audience: it targets the young, new voters in the UK. Important? YES. Especially when environmental issues are rising to be of the utmost importance for those campaigning to run for the government.

Are there things or issues that stand out?

Yes the game definitely focuses on political policy and choice effecting climate change. Its not a question whether it will happen or not, but how today's actions effect tomorrows outcome.

Is there something about the message? The game play? What you’re

learning/not learning? Etc.

Learning is a key concept for the game, players learn mainly about the causes of global warming from human causes, made aware about government policy regarding climate change, and asked to consider the international challenges regarded climate change policy/negotiation.

Whats missing? The game does an excellent job of informing the player about resources, money, & whats important for what sector. It kind of misses the boat by leaving out the demographics/cultures of certain areas. If you are in charge of placing a mandatory bylaw for people to buy energy efficient appliances, would it not be important for the player to know income level or general class? Clearly the game cannot include every bit of real life in it or else it probably would not be as fun in its current layout, but to blindly assume is also a problem.

You should give at least three possible discussion topics in this part of the post and why it’s worthy of further discussion/analysis.

1. Target audience: impact of game on audience and importance for real life decisions... is this game working/effective at all?

2. Political action: does this game create an interest in environmental issues? Or does it foster the interest in those who already have one, leading to agency and action in real life..

3. Environmental knowledge: do players already know the data that are manipulating? Or does this game do a good job in teaching new and unknown information about climate change, policies, and related economic/resource issues.

Video Gamez; Gen 1-5 & Beyond !

2009-05-13T09:16:00.001-07:00

Gaming has evolved drastically since its beginning way back in the 1970's as a commercial medium. The first to fifth generation of gaming are jam packed. To explain the changes of gaming from gen 1 to gen 5 would take all day. Trust me it took me a whole day just to read the Wikipedia page. The beginning and the end are almost incomparable, except they aren't because even the very first games created are still available thanks to the Internet for many casual gamers alike. Basically, gaming was introduced in arcade environments with massive success, home consoles around the beginning were not very popular until the introduction of cartridge games that could be read by home consoles, rather than buying a console with set games programmed in. This began the 'omggottarunoutandbuythatcoolnewgamedude!' phase. Translation to today: people lining up for days to get into best buy to buy Halo 3. Chaos. The gaming audience was slowly (or quickly depending on how you look at it) formed. Who was responsible? University creative geniuses who saw computer systems as entertainment rather than 00100 001 00101 ! The gaming industry was born. There were many struggles to keep it out of the hands of corporate greed, for the expansion of gaming could only be achieved by those in it for the good of all gamers, to produce creating, challenging, and amazing graphics. Within 30 years sounds chips went from "bee-boop-bee" to recognizable everyday sounds and character voices. Graphics also evolved immensely because of gaming, and computer software as we know it today is in debt to the gaming industry that constantly pushed boundaries to be better than before.

Sixth & seventh generation gaming has turned into a major cut-throat battle between 3 major home console producing companies that churned out the Wii, PS3, and XBox360. A noticeable change in these generations is Wii's effort to market to 'non-gamers' (because everyone is a gamer at heart) and change the concept of the console controller to something immensely different and never attempted before. XBox360 and PS3 seem to be in competition for 'serious' gamers, by attempting to achieve the greatest graphics and hardware for gaming. They market almost strictly towards people who are already 'gamers' rather than those who are new to the world of gaming (like Wii did).

Overall I think that gaming has changed for the gamer a lot. Previously it was a challenge, you wanted to win, there were fun obstacles, etc. There is nothing wrong with that but I think the level of gaming in our lives has escalated to a point where games must become more relevant to the 'real world'. Gaming has become much more intertwined with various aspects of popular culture as well as serious issues. Wii challenges gaming stereotypes with WiiFit, and incorporating the physically challenging with the virtually stimulating. SecondLife allows for a virtual experiment of REAL life. There are endless capabilities. Also, the importance of multi-player and connectivity shows the importance of gaming and also how we as a society value a global network of people from different parts of the world.

SERIOUS gaming. No jokes.

2009-05-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

The serious game I am choosing to research and write about is called Climate Challenge and is (obviously) about the environment and creating social awareness for tough government decisions that must be made. I couldn’t decide between this game and Energyville but I chose Climate Challenge because it seems more complex, and is aimed at a higher age group 18+ who are eligible for voting!

Climate Challenge is available on the BBC website under the Science & Nature: Hot Topics link that I have provided above in the hyperlinked game title. I chose this game because I am really interested in the environment, and how our future depends on aggressive environmental policies. Specifically this game provides the ‘public opinion’ on certain policies as well as the environmental, economic, good, water, and energy effects. Clearly people care about the environment, but people also care (maybe too much) about themselves. To radically change/stop global warming this mindset must change also and I think that this game attempts to tackle the stubborn.

This game was created/developed by Red Redemption LTD and supported by the BBC as well as provided with scientific advice from Oxford University. Red Redemption’s slogan is “Learning by Playing” which I think fits the criteria for a serious games developer. They have won various awards for the development and release of various environmentally aware computer games. They also have a Facebook group!!!! Also also have just become authorized developers for Nintendo DS.

The game itself is a single-player mode where you are making the choices of the President of Europe. Environmental choices include resident, local, industry, trade, and international and are effected by public opinion/approval, and economic, food, water, energy and pollution goal restrictions. Every few years you meet with delegates from around the world to strategize and help subsidize others for their energy goals while making promises yourself to lower CO2 emissions. You are given ten turns (each turn is a decade) spanning from 2000 to 2100. Every turn you are responsible for choosing a specific number of policies available from the different selections (local, industry, etc.). Hovering over policies shows public opinion (good & bad) as well as it explains the impact of each choice. There are also small bar graphs that visually depict the impact it will have on the economy, food, etc. Its very user friendly but mature and gives very interesting and most importantly necessary and relevant information to the player. This information is not just valuable for the game itself but for understanding real life decisions for environmental policy making. Also, throughout the game there are newspaper articles that show what the public liked/didn’t like and your own approval rate. Some natural disasters occur as well that you must select spending rates for that effect your budget for the following turn.

COMM 3P96

2009-05-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hey, I already introduced myself in this blog, but here we go again! My name is Carissa and I am a Communications: Media, Culture & Society stream major in my second year of study. I am not a hardcore gamer, but I have dabbled in PC and video games. I would probably label myself as a gamer before I was in university. High school spare got me acquainted with Counterstrike & Halo and in grade school I played large amounts of Runescape and Neopets. I also love Pogo.com’s ‘Poppit’ game with balloons. Also, I just found out you can buy many games for your iPod which sounds exciting. Mostly I would say I play computer games if at all. I don’t really have a favourite game but I did realllly love Neopet’s Meerca Chase, as well as Poppit. Actually I just remembered this game you can download called Tank Wars and its SO awesome. You can play it against someone if you’re on the same network. Super cool. I feel like since University started I play hardly any games at all because if I’m not working, schooling, or sleeping I am out doing other social things. Gaming just doesn’t seem to fit into my schedule. Even Guitar Hero which my brother and sister were obsessed with when it first came out never really got me hooked.

I think discussing gaming and virtual worlds is very important because it is always SO negatively criticized. People who do make time in their schedule for gaming are often looked down on for no clear reason. Even by people who don’t consider themselves gamers can be gamers, like Prof Tracy has mentioned. My mom plays Mahjong and Freecell/or Spider Solitaire for hours every night, yet is concerned when my brother plays Runescape or WoW or whatever goes on for consecutive hours. What makes these gaming styles different or one more or less acceptable than another? I do not know. Maybe by the end of this course I will find out. I also think it is important because the offline world and the online world are connected (obviously) and therefore the offline world can be affected by the online one, as well as visa-versa.

Serious Games.

I checked out FloodSim because I thought WHOA- politicians, emergency planners, and rescue workers could use this game for preparing for an emergency. What better way than to make a emergency plan then to see the effects of major flooding in a virtual world. Similarly a game like this increased awareness AND forces people to critically think about actions necessary after a major disaster.

Peacemaker: Lots of people are confused about conflicts dating back for decades such as between Israel & Palestine. Who is right? Who is wrong? Both, neither? This game allows for an unbiased medium to evaluate, explore and manipulate such conflict.

Food Force is an interesting way to contribute to third world hunger issues from your very own home. It not only has the game but also many links telling players how to help, what to do, how to get involved, etc.

I find all of these serious games extremely interesting. They seem able to ‘help’ or encourage thought for many serious issues. I had no idea that serious gaming was so big and easy to access. I am interested in knowing how much do these games actually help the issue.

The Information Society..

2009-04-10T06:14:00.000-07:00

I remember at the beginning of the course, Prof Tracy mentioned that Dale Bradley also taught this class and I wondered what the heck the difference was.. NOW I KNOW!!!!! Kudos to you Prof Tracy, for making this class not only very awesome, but extremely informative. I love Dale Bradley with all my heart, but I do believe I would not have been able to get the same experience as what this class taught me.

By being able to immerse ones self in technology, and practically evaluate the ICT's we already use, I feel like I now have a new perspective of social media. Twitter itself may be a fad, just as everything seems to die off someday, but it sure does shape the way our society lives, interacts, and communicates. It shapes relationships- and not just personal ones, but relationships between government, corporations, small business, celebrities, fake celebrities, and nonprofit causes. It literally brings the world to my fingertips in front of a 13" screen.

I think that this was a valuable learning experience because we were not forced to look from afar. I didn't have to sit at home at night wondering how this knowledge would ever apply to my life, because it became clear to me that it pretty much is my life.. or at least a huge part of it. I have learned to never dismiss a social media technology. Before this class I primarily used my networks online as social ones.. but now I value their full potential. I also am more comfortable utilizing these technologies with helpful tools like twhirl and google reader, and delicious.

Overall the information society is an extremely interesting view of society and it leaves me with so many questions. Last semester I was introduced to the idea of it by my 2p65 class when we had to read Richard Florida's article about the creative class. Here's an interview with (my lover) George Stroumboulopoulos: Richard Florida on the Creative Class. Its extremely interesting.. but at the same time, is this achievable/viable?

I still wonder, what about the people living in the 'third world', what about the people who are being continually pushed further and further away from the information society. I want to now learn about the implications for those beyond our own sphere. We live in a globalized world yet there are still so many regions or groups/classes of people not in touch with the kind of technologies we discussed in the class. They have the ability to transform.. but will they?

So much thinking to do, and schooling. Anyways, awesome class.

We Shape our Tools and in Turn They Shape Us?

2009-04-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

MMM, Marshall McLuhan

Technological determinism?

Flight of the Conchords- The Humans Are Dead

Personal Information; A Never-ending Battle

2009-04-10T05:45:00.000-07:00

My privacy online is very important to me.. but I find hard to control. Like someone suggested in class, our personal information is the price we pay for being able to utilize so many different online services. I know I feel really hesitant before signing up for a service, site, or revealing any information online just like I would if someone asked me in real life. But usually, I give it away anyways. When I was younger I made up fake names, emails, zip and postal codes but I find now I am more likely to just be selective and limit who and where I give information to. Information for free contests, surveys and prizes I find I give up more easily. Which is actually strange when I think about it, who says some company I have never heard of before telling me I can win a cruise for free is NOT going to share and distribute the information I give them. They probably purely exist to gather and sell profiles about people like me who are gullible and want free things!

I THINK that I am taking proper steps to protect myself, and I do not google my SIN card number or bank account info but I still wonder.. in what ways, unknowingly, have people or companies have collected information about me. And WHAT in the heck do they do with it? Even people like me who feel sneaky, like we've gone under the radar still receive telemarketing calls on cell phones at 3am.

CBC: Anonymity a Thing of the Past?

It makes me feel a little paranoid, conspiracy obsessed but especially with new location centered technology.. is it really people's business where I am, what I'm doing? The online/offline fears of privacy are becoming mixed. I guess that may be the price for living in a capitalist society. But are people going to be willing to pay that price?

Privacy Issues

2009-04-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

Privacy, has always been a very important thing for people, but especially in modern times with heightened issues of surveillance and continued power inequality it seems to be more of an issue than ever before. On the Internet, I am very wary of my personal privacy.. but by looking on my Facebook in class, it is still something I am not in control of. Even by Googling my name, people can see race's I have run and the terrible times I have gotten, and find out where I went to high school. Now I understand that no one is really "out to get me" but there is still potential for private information to be used in a negative way against me, or without my knowledge.

I think that I am mostly concerned about people being able to contact me at home, or on my cellphone because those are mainly for personal use and I would not want them 'invaded' by an unwanted outsider.

On Facebook, ever since I have had a profile I have made sure to put as little information on it as possible. I don't put my year of birth, my exact hometown, address, or cell phone number. I do this because a lot of the time people add me that I am not particularly close with, but have become acquainted with once or twice. A lot of the time I don't want these people calling me or texting me.. and so I do not share my phone information or address. I do put up a lot of pictures, but I have recently taken many off.. I find a minimalist approach to social networking is best. People are going to find out things about you either way, but as long as I can try and stay in control of that information, its okay by me.

I do have a horror story, I can't remember if it is Facebook or Myspace- but same difference. A friend of a friend who we shall call Lucy.. in high school, Lucy got an email from someone she had never met saying he had fallen in love with a girl over the Internet, but this girl had recently revealed that she had been copying Lucy's pictures to send to the boy, rather than her own. Along with some information gathered from her profile, the girl had convinced this boy that she looked like Lucy! Lucy then freaked out.. understandably.

THIS is why people should always, always make their profile pages PRIVATE. The story sounds like something made up, but it actually happened just like in the movies!! Crazy!! Moral of the story, other than making your profile private- add other security features like taking your name off Google.. a lot of people don't realize this as we found out in class, and were not comfortable with it. My story tells that a lot of people are unaware of who is looking, using, and circulating their information without their personal permission. And this was just a harmless Internet girlfriend.. who knows, it could have been a serial killer or something

Search Engine Differences/Similarities

2009-04-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

My keyword is "American Association of Advertising Agencies" which I decided on by clicking 'random article' on Wikipedia.

Google: The association's site came up first, followed by job listing searches, executive videos, a multi-cultural advertising intern program, and some news articles about the association. It seemed like a pretty broad search result for a single company/association. There were no "sponsored ads" on the side bar.

Yahoo Canada: Many of the same links came up with a few more from American sources. There were about 13 "sponsored ads" along the side.

Live Search: All American sites about the association plus Wikipedia, and only 1 "sponsored ad". When I clicked the "only in Canada" box, the site list changed dramatically, and included a broader range of information centered around geography like Quebec but also Asia & the States.

Overall, the results differed a fair amount. I would suggest that this is an important factor that should always be taken into consideration when searching for information. Just like when I search on scholarly journal databases, I use more than one to find what I'm looking for- people should be aware that certain search engines do not always present their results in the same way, and often do not advertise this fact. I think that I have a biased love for Google so I choose it over anything else.. but who knows, they are not any more/less honest than any other search engine. And if they are, go Google!

Search Histoire

2009-04-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

So, I would post a picture of my google searches BUT I left my email signed on a home's PC where my brother goes online, and my findings were not at all accurate...

Anyways, if someone were to view my searches, I think it would be pretty obvious that I am a student. Firstly, because there are about a million searches through Google Books for "Documenting the Documentary" and "The Beaver Bites Back" which I do not consider leisurely reads. Also because I frequently search on Google Scholar. Actually, someone could probably figure out what kind of classes I was taking or what my paper topics were because I recently wrote 5 marathon essays.

Other than school, my searches often are about music and lyrics. (PS- I downloaded this thing called Tunelyrics which is an app for macs that is AWESOME, it runs with your iTunes and retrieves lyrics as the song plays) I also have searched for local bus transit, lifeguarding sites, file sharing sites, and local websites especially for movie times.

In conclusion, a third party would be able to find out my musical interests, that I have worked or work in aquatics, where I live, and that I love going to the movies on Tuesdays because it is cheap night in my hometown. They would also know what school I go to and where I plan on going next year. Overall, this kind of creeps me out. And if I went through that AOL fiasco where people's searches were released, someone would definitely find me. Especially because in class we recently had to google ourselves.

This information is probably not too valuable, unless someone kidnapped me and was pretending to be me. Or for a marketer of some sort.. looking to target me as a consumer.. which would not even be a good idea because I am extremely poor.

Brainstorm

2009-04-02T12:54:00.001-07:00

Three things I have learned so far from 2P26:

1. People can make a serious living by tweeting, googling, blogging, facebooking, and networking. And it sounds awesome. I felt like this class should have been mandatory for business comm students, I'm only in the Media, Culture & Society stream, but I love marketing and this is such a practical tool for anyone involved with a business small or large. Specifically for small businesses though, because many of these social media tools are FREE. $$$

2. I could make a serious living by doing the above, and it would be awesome.

3. I have also learned, along with my other classes this has popped up, that people really really need to learn to be media literate. Especially with the serious privacy issues online, you cannot go out giving random sites your postal code, SIN #, and other ID information. But people do it, and don't realize what an impact it can have on them. By learning about privacy settings, acknowledging the importance of privacy, and being informed about how information circulates through a corporate world.. the common internet user would be way better off.

I also learned that misinformation is a huge part of the web. But at the same time, I make up information half the time to give to sites I don't exactly trust. They feel sneaky lying to us, but just as easily we can lie to them.. or so I think. Who knows what people know about me, my family, my friends. This is how people get paranoid..

4. Because #2 was not really a real point, I have also learned the importance of evaluating social media in our world. I was introduced to Twitter in this class, and at the perfect time it seems as it has exploded in popular culture. Politicians are tweeting from the White House while kids are given detention for touching a cell phone in class. McLuhan said that the media of an era changes the way we live, interact, etc. Social media seem like a new thing, that actually has the ability to change the way we think, act, interact, and grow up. The ethical consideration of new Media technologies like Twitter I think have to be very carefully considered. Especially media etiquette because I greatly dislike someone texting when I try and have a conversation with them.. c'mon people! John Stewart is my hero for this one.. Twitter

T-t-technologic

2009-04-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

Cloud Computer's seem to be the new cool thing, my friend got a free one from her bank and my boyfriend just got one to replace his ancient gigantasaurus laptop. Their main function as the link above explains, is to be like a social media connection everywhere you go. Nice! Especially because every building seems to have WiFi, these tiny computers seem to be the way to go.. internet, chat, camera.. its all you really need with the combination of a handy desktop at home. PLUS for girlies, it fits right inside a purse. How about that..

Also, they start at $300 which seems pretty affordable, around the same as an iPhone? hmmmm

2009-04-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

So, I thought I had already blogged on this, but here we go!
LinkedIn is a very useful site, especially for helping a first-timer make an organized and presentable resume. My profile is not fully updated, but I made sure to put some work experience and figured I can always update it when I have more time. So far I am at 70% "profile completeness" according to the site. I think that this is a useful website to get your name out there, you never know who will look at it. It just adds to your chances of recieving a callback, without necessarily having to go out and print of 1200 resumes. It is probably my least favourite part of finding a job, I would rather have 1200 interviews. I will still end up going out and distributing a hard copy of my resume, but I will also be crossing my fingers that maybe someone will come across my online resume and say WhOA, we could use that girl. (maybe in my dreams?)

My first reaction about the site was that it was super cluttered. If I could give them any suggestions I would say to get ride of some of their links, as not all of them are necessary. Also, it would be nice if there was a bit more student friendly material. We all know how hard it is to find student jobs, especially after graduation. I think that LinkedIn could make a lot of business if they specially targeted recently graduated students.

I recently stumbled upon the Mark by Ben video on YouTube which is also an independent website by Mark Gullet's son Ben. Mark Gullet worked for the Tampa Bay Lightening hockey team, but was recently let go. Right under the video there is a link to his dad's LinkedIn profile. Very cool.

Deanna's Blog

2009-04-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed reading Deanna's blog because she is so upbeat and happy ALL of the time!
You can locate Deanna's blog here: Deanida's Blog
Her writing style is very casual, pretty much the exact same as how she speaks in REAL life.. I left a comment on her blog, but I don't think it ever got accepted. Anyways, she writes about whatever she is thinking, and is very honest about her opinions which is very refreshing. Its definitely not like reading a boring text book. Go Deanna!

Blogging about BLOGS.

2009-02-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

Moblog;
I think that the idea of a moblog is really interesting, but the interface of the website is TERRIBLE. It is so cluttered, to complex and not very user friendly. Also, every users profile is different and I couldn’t tell whether the photo was taken by a cellphone camera or a real camera. The few I visited seemed to be posting pictures from a real camera, rather than a cellphone. Would this not be more of a photoblog? Hmm.. Anyways, the moblog idea is really cool. Twitterpics might be more useful because it has a simpler interface. Also, the short content limits make it idea for cellphone users.
http://moblog.net/signs/
I found a cool group that consisted of members who post “Signs - daft signs, cool signs, any signs.” It was much easier to view than a specific user. The group system and tagging of moblogs allows for easy searching of specific pictures. It is also interesting to see in what ways different users collaborate.
Overall, moblogging seems pointless to me seeing as how cellphones are incorporates into any type of blogging nowadays. A specific one for cellphones does not seem interesting or unique now that you can text to your facebook, flickr, twitter, etc.

Photoblog;
I went to flickr.com to investigate photoblogs. I think that these are super super cool. If “a picture is worth a thousand words” then this type of blogging is useful to communicate with a large amount of people. Instead of being restricted to words, photos allow a more free vehicle of expression whether it is for a specific message or personal use.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cloughridge/3314098859/
I found this flickr member and thought it was really cool to see that other users could tag areas of the picture and add a comment specifically to that area. It makes the composition so much more interesting!

VideoBlog;
First I found this: http://2007.weblogawards.org/polls/best-video-blog-1.php
A contest for the best video blogs ever.
Second, I found THIS amazing v.blog: http://itsjerrytime.com/ with a videoblog called “Speed Dating” that features Kristen Schaal who is MEL from Flight of the Conchords so I figured I needed to use this as an example. It is not a traditional videoblog, as it incorporates animation editing to form a video blog “production” in a way. I think it still counts as a video blog because the issue of truth is confronted. Videoblogs (like lonelygirl) are often confronted by issues of authenticity, and in this blog it doesn’t try to present itself as “real” character. It creates a fictional character Jerry to present the authors real thoughts, in turn avoiding the chance of presenting fake material. There is also a written blog to explain his own experiences and why he made the video the way he did. I think that is shows how videoblogs are changing and people are using them for many different things, not just as a personal encounter with your computers webcam.

Audioblog;

I found this website on how to create your own audioblog. Very useful.

http://www.soul-sides.com/2004/07/so-you-want-to-start-audioblog.html

hipcast.com offers services to create your own audioblog and “media for the masses”.
http://www.gabcast.com/ lets you record your phone conversations and conference calls.
The only real web example I could find was this http://www.kalamu.com/bol/ but a lot of the links were expired. It basically posts songs and then blogs about them so you can listen and read at the same time, very cool. Audioblogging seems to be something you incorporate into your written blog. A podcast usually accompanies something else like a tv show, celebrity, artist, radio show, etc. To simply be an audioblogger doesn’t seem very popular.. podcasts are very popular but don’t interact with other podcasts so they aren’t really like blogs. They simply can be part of a blog or advertised by one.
PS: My favourite podcast is Stuart McLeans’s Vinyl Cafe form CBC!! Check it out.
http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/index.html?arts#vinylcafe

My Discovery of Social Bookmarking

2009-02-26T14:43:00.000-08:00

On my Safari I make use of the handy toolbar for favourites to link the sites I visit on a daily basis, that way they are only one easy click away. I also have a favourites menu in the bookmarks section that I use for various websites I want to keep track of. My list got so big that I tried to sort it into sub-files, but I found that I couldn’t keep up with sorting the sites as I saved them. It was like trying to keep all my clothes folded in my room, impossible. After class, I signed up for Delicious to save my bookmarks. Social bookmarking sites help organize the sites right as you save them. This is good for me, because instead of going back and organizing, I am prompted to tag and comment right at the moment. The only problem is that to find the sites I save I have to go to a website and search which seems like more work than just looking in your browser. But Delicious still benefits me because I would rather have one extra step than an unorganized folder of random websites.
On Delicious I tagged five sites that are course related.

1. 50 Ways to Use Social Media; Listed By Objective
TONNES of information sorted by categories on how to use social media for marketing. Could be extremely helpful for final project.

2. Don't Believe These 10 Social Media Myths

Myths of social media. Interesting view of what people think and really relative to the course!

3. How Social Media Changed Campaigning

In depth look at social media during the elections. Talks about “sneezers” on twitter as re-tweeters. Nice. Kind of boring though.

4. Does Social Media Make Us Better People?

We are more exposed, therefore is our behaviour improving? hmmmm I like this one.

5. BBC NEWS | Technology | Music site Last.fm bought by CBS

CBS buys last.fm.. big money!

For the third part of blog-work assigned I searched “Canadian” in the three social bookmarking sites.

I found that Diigo seems like it is used more by adults or intellectuals. All the links that came up were about investing, news, economic news, and taxes. Probably since it is about annotation and side notes, it makes it a popular site for thinkers, students, and business people.

Digg seemed very much popular culture phenomenon. It contained many results that were currently popular news item, controversial, and humorous content. There was also a lot about Canadian/US relations but most of it was comedy and seemed to downplay Canadians. Not sure why, maybe more Americans use Digg than Canadians.

Delicious is what I signed up for because it seemed most user friendly but I enjoy scanning Digg more because the tagged items are generally more interesting. Delicious works great for personal use because of the tag system. On Delicious I found that there were a lot more positive sites about Canadians (compared to Digg). Most of the tagged sites were a kind of self help for Canadians or a news story.

Google gave me a broader search result, and with mostly important sites listed first like the Canada wikipedia page, Molson’s site, Canadian Tire, and a few charity sites. It was interesting being these are popular Canadian themes you could say.

Overall, its important to know how content is delivered to a site. Google depends on links, whereas social bookmarking sites rely on people. It would be interesting to see a demographic analysis of the users of each SB site. What nationalities use it most, age groups, gender, etc. Further, to relate the demographics to the popular content would be an interesting research project.

This makes my week complete.

2009-02-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

I'm on a Boat- ft T-Pain

For more go to lonelyisland.com : )

#coffeesexual? ..What?!

2009-02-06T07:29:00.001-08:00

I have found that twirl keeps me updated on tweets so I can't forget about them. If someone tweets I can answer right away which enhances the conversation aspect of twitter. I agree with the Clever Sheep blog that its important to "be a friend" because then it encourages other people to respond to your own tweets. If nobody connected by tweeting and re-tweeting there wouldn't be much of a point to twitter. Everyone would be too self absorbed. Tweeting to someone even if its about something small and insignificant shows that you care and are interested in fostering a twitter community. I would like to re-tweet but find that I don't spend enough time looking for other people to follow. Its mainly just the 2P26 class on my list and my mom and sister. I like to tweet questions and interesting links because I find you get more responses. I also "tweet the small stuff" sometimes just because its a way for people to get to know you and recognize unknown similarities.

I'll say a bit more about hashtags.. and how its a cool way to see what people are saying about a certain subject. This is really useful for people looking for a variety of opinions or feedback on a show(like LOST from my last post), product, or blog. The lists of words that have been tagged are insanely long. There are over 50 different tags for COFFEE alone that are listed in English. I don't know if coffee is different in other languages, I would assume so. I don't find myself using hashtags. I should probably experiment with them for this class so I get a good mark. I think instead of using a hashtag mid-sentence, I will tag a key word at the end or at the beginning. I read someones blog about how its #annoying to read a #tweet that's #filled with #hashtags. This is sometimes true.

Hashtags & Wikis

2009-02-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

#HASHTAGS

I think this is a really really awesome way to cruise through twitter posts. I looked up LOST on hashtags and the word is at its peak tagging point every time a new episode airs. COOL! Also, I would like to point out that if you scroll down you can NEVER reach the end of the page because of how many hashtags there are. It just keep re-loading and adding them to the bottom.People generally post what is interesting about the show or what they are severely confused about. This is a common tweet because the show is generally confusing and you never quite know what is going on.

I found a Lost wiki while scrolling through the tweets: http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

Its pretty awesome, but I think the people that contribute to it must have no lives whatsoever.

Check it out!

WIKIS

I am severely wiki-challenged. I find that a lot of wiki's are hard to navigate through and have varying arrangements and linking styles. This makes it hard to view certain wikis but is not true for all of them. Wikipedia is easy enough to search through as well as the lost one I found. Pertaining to our class work, I think that a wiki is not the best way to communicate because it is so unstructured. I think a blog that is organized chronologically is much easier. Even with Facebook, there is a specific section for videos, comments, discussion, and pictures which directly shows you where to put a certain type of information that you want to share.

I did find a link to a yoga blog that absolutely amazed me. These were like hardcore yoga practitioners who bragged about doing yoga on gravel. Pregnant women flying around the world to do yoga. All connected thanks to this amazing wiki! There was just so much information and comments and link available. The only thing that still bothered me was that it is again so unstructured. Possibly this is because I am not familiar with the concept of a wiki. It does seem like a perfect idea for people to gather in a community style and share valuable information. The fact that wikis are self governing is also a benefit because unlike a blog or Facebook, you can control absolutely anything about the web page. Nobody tells you a video has to go in a certain area which is great for some, but not so great for others (like myself).

For businesses the idea of a wiki come with both bad and good sides. Self-governing means that people on the bottom of the food chain are more likely to have serious ideas actually heard. It acts as a third party advocate that makes sure everyone’s information is given a place. At the same time this means that others can edit or use the wiki for not so noble purposes. Misinformation is a large problem that many companies have had when using wiki technology. The link from the class blog uses the example of the LA Times’ blog that was shutdown due to Internet vandalism.

I found an article that said:

“Wikis are structurally capable of handling conversation, but it is not their forte; instead, wikis excel at collaboration. They are intended to maintain a series of unique documents as their content evolves and to provide an organic means of organizing that information.”

http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=167600331

Clearly, if used properly people have seriously benefited from the use of wikis for business. For file sharing they become perfect for rough work and updates, without having to deal with a mass of emails or personal messages.

My Social Network

2009-01-31T16:17:00.000-08:00

My circle blog did NOT work out well. I made both of my lists but I don't really get how to plot it on the circle chart. If anyone knows feel free to comment and explain.. I don't know what is wrong with me. I don’t know what does in what circle ring.. or if its all up to me. Oh well, by analyzing my lists I can still answer the questions for this assignment.

My social network is not very big, probably because I've lived the same place my whole life and things have not changed much. My work experience leads to new connections while going to school at Brock has done the same. For close ties it was mostly family and friends I've known for a long time. Somewhat close ties were people from work, highschool, and other reasons but were not people I'd call up on the weekend to hangout with. For very close friends and family the communication I used most were F2F and cell phones. For people listed on the very close list without F2F, it was mostly because they live farther away and I only see them a few times a year. My somewhat close ties rely heavily on Facebook and IM but there were a few surprising exceptions of F2F communication as well.

Very close relationships are people who I trust and have known for a long time. The somewhat close list was separated into three very distinct groups. It consisted of people from highschool I still get together with every now and then, friends from work in the summer, and people from Wainfleet (haha). Mostly everyone was on Facebook except for my dad who doesn’t know how to scroll down a webpage and my boyfriend who is currently boycotting most technology (loser).

Critical commentary? I would assume that the longer I am living, the larger my network will become. Especially when I try to find a real job or career I would assume that I will put a more concious effort into networking for my benefit.

Interpersonal Communication Technology

2009-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

Overall, ICTs are definitely a huge part of my life. Unlike many people previously feared, ICT use has not gotten rid of face to face communication completely. Yes, it does substitute for some face to face communication, but at the same time it allows for so much more communication overall. Thanks to my cell phone, Facebook, and/or MSN no matter how trivial the content, I still can interact with a far greater amount of people if I could only communicate F2F. It would be unrealistic to think that people could live without face to face communication. Even with all of the devices that have replaced humans, a lot of them still rely on us as a secondary source (like the blood pressure machines). A lot of the time I have questions that google can't answer, and I need to ask a real life human being!

I think its interesting how my cell phone acts as a doorbell, alarm clock, pocket watch, planner, reminder, and communicating device all in one. I know a lot of people that don't wear a wrist watch because they carry a cell phone in their pocket daily. Even though I rely on text messaging to meet up with people or to catch up briefly, it has not replaced the phone call. Its really handy if you have a short message but in depth conversations through text messaging causes trouble. First of all, just like MSN text messages DON'T convey tone or importance. I know people who would have marathon battles through text message and this amazes me. I can't remember one thing I've sent two messages before if somebody responds in between. For school and work I find that email is one of the most important things to communicate. Email seems more formal because its a more casual form of letter writing, but people still ask you to use correct email etiquette. A professor for one of my classes spent 20 minutes explaining the rules of email. I think that instant messaging, Facebook messaging or groups provide accessible means of communication and are far more casual (and less work) than an email. I also use last.fm to find new music, but I don't really use the messaging feature. Its mostly for the cool charts and recommended artists suggestions.

Overall, I noticed that I am probably on the Internet too much, but my cell phone use is extremely limited. I rely on my cellular phone to make short term plans, like getting in touch with someone at school or calling for a ride from the bus stop. My computer is needed for work communication, school, and social communication although i probably spend too much time on Facebook. I don't even do much, I just have the constant urge to check it and read my news feed no matter how useless it is! MSN is my essay writing lifeline so I know I'm not the only one struggling to survive at 3am, and for quick catching up with friends. Without ICT's, the information or network society would not really be possible. Especially things like twitter that can be used for simple purposes, for building a career, or discussing major issues. They allow such a variety of information to be communicated that I can't see any other way of transmitting information. Imagine only being able to talk to someone far away by snail mail. Not possible after experiencing the convenience of today's ICTs.

Junk Food Ban Uprising!

2009-01-14T15:48:00.001-08:00

The coolest kids I wish I had known in elementary school..

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/09/16/bc-junk-food-trade.html#articlecomments

Helloo Fellow 2p26ers

2009-01-07T06:12:00.001-08:00

2. Introduce yourself! Who are you? What things interest you? What do you want to do with yourself after university?

WELL- My name is Carissa as you can tell my the very original blog title above. I'm a second year Media, Culture and Society Communications major. I still live at home (good times) with my fam in Welland and usually take the bus to big bad Brock. It sounds lame but I owe the government or any bank zero dollars which keeps me happy. I am really interested in the side of communications that this class is concerned with.. I like learning about the history of communication and how its changed, why it matters, and how it effects things we do today. I love pop culture and how it makes mundane texts seem like they matter. I also love art!

Other than school I enjoy snowboarding anywhere possible, reading non-text books, and music. I LOVE hiking, walking or being anywhere outside and if you are a Brock student and have not been to Decew Falls I strongly suggest that you go there! Its literally right behind the school and in the winter it forms a massive, massive ice bridge under the falls and you can walk around and behind it. This may be slightly dangerous but its super pretty and exciting. There is even a long old water shaft of some sort in the rock that is home to bats and a scary beaver.. so if you love wild animals..

Anyways, after university I am thinking of going into some sort of post-grad college program to give me real world skills unless something really makes me want to go for a masters degree. I still have absolutely no idea about my future but I will just keep finding out what I'm interested in and hopefully something good will happen. Next year I want to go to Glasgow on an exchange but I'm not 100% sure about plans yet.

I hope this was an invigorating read! Seeeeyah in class.