Virtual reality systems have enormous potential for good. Aside from the rich, entertainment value of gaming, virtual systems used for scientific modeling and simulation help in understanding the world and in training. But virtual systems could also lead, to a world in which individuals escape into fantasy worlds and have difficulty dealing with the “real world” of flesh and blood people.

Johnson, Deborah G. (2009-08-20). Computer Ethics, ePub (4th Edition) (Kindle Locations 469-472). Pearson HE, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

This post should be called “The State of the Media” address for its all encompassing perspective of media ownership from media companies to individuals. In agreeing with Rosen, many examples can be drawn from GloZellGreen’s channel on Youtube where she is a critic of pop songs. She attracts an average of 2 million viewers per video, and offers her opinion in a fun, and jovial way (Hollywood critics are not fun and jovial).

Prior to GlozellGreen’s Youtube channel, pop songs were criticized by “people of the media” whose opinion, whose sole ownership of that task meant that many unbiased opinions had to be censored for national television.

In other related examples on Youtube, and personal blogs, tech products scrutinized by the users themselves is much more believable than scrutiny from a paid professional. This peer to peer scrutiny builds trust and helps to shape brand loyalty for some products. For example, a Blogger shares his experience with Apple products is much more believe than a paid professional sharing his experience.

Not only is this funny, but I enjoyed twisting the original plot! Shirky was right, it feels good to be in control of what I create and edit, and feels even better to share it for the laughs.

I chose the Men In Black image because I am a fan of Will Smith and thought that Men in Black should really be “Men in Black” 🙂

I took 20 mins to find and edit the images, because I knew that I was looking for an image of Will Smith and an image of a monkey with a gun. Google did the rest.

In the early 1960s, consumerism meant buying goods for personal use. However, with the introduction of TV sets, consumerism became more than just buying goods. The action of sitting in front of a TV set, redefined consumerism for this particular industry. One can sit in front of a TV and “consume” shows, and movies.

This phenomenon lasted for many years until technology took off, as people began to shift from Consumerism to Production. Video cameras, handheld cameras, and computers allowed people to create content to their liking.

During the latter part of my teenage years, I was exposed to a variety of “production devices.” Cameras allowed me to take pictures of family events, which was great for a while until I realized that the content I produced could only be seen by me.

Hence, I had an unmet need for my content to be seen by family and friends in other geographic locations.

Then came the Internet, which allowed me to produce AND share. As a 1990’s baby, I have experienced the shift from consumerism, to production, and then to sharing which, in essence, has allowed the networked community to be autonomous.

To this current day, I have enjoyed being an autonomous user of the Internet, because it has also allowed me to be how I want to be, and not what society wants me to be.

I am ME, no one can dictate the way I think, feel, or express my self, and this I can attribute to the shift in technology.