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https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/com3057etraexposed/
By Terecea, Arvis and Andrea.
Author: tg167543
A Game Ahead of its Time
With gender and cybertyping so common in digital media, it is rare that we find a game that embodies the norms of society. However I believe The Sims video game does a good job of analyzing gender and portrays it well throughout the game. In Sims, you are essentially creating a character that emulates a human being. You are responsible for making sure your character is fed, washed, fulfilling their basic daily needs as well as advancements on their personal and professional lives. Your character goes on to getting a job, starting a family and so forth.
Sims does a good job of remaining neutral because your role in the game is the same no matter which gender you choose. In early versions of Sims, which launched in 2000: all types of people were featured including same-sex couples. Your identity in the game focused on how well you take care of your character and build their life. You do not receive special advantages because you are male or female, no extra special powers are given.
With the newest update of Sims 4 the focus on character development rises. You can adjust Sims identities to represent actual family members are give them personality types related to their actual personalities as well. These Sims are more emotion based, and your goal is to make them “happy”. Happy Sims also have the power to cheer up sad Sims, and their everyday interactions mimic the actions of people in real life.
Questions
Do you believe Sims represents a true reality or are there still evidence of gender and racial stereotypes?
Why does it appear that most video games use cybertyping? Does this help or hurt the video game industry?
The Future of Digital
There is no denying that digital communications have changed so much over the years. As a millennial I have had the privilege to grow with the rise of digital technology. From using the computer to solely check my email to now being able to connect with old and new friends on multiple social media platforms. In a short time the digital community has taken over the way we communicate and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The question is, where do we go from here?
Source: FreePress.net
Ethics is a big problem that has came along with the rise of digital media especially when it comes to big business. People have discovered that these companies are using the information in our social media to provide data to marketers. While this may have been listed in the terms and conditions people were largely unaware that their information was being sold. This has made people hesitant with the information their posting online, because their is no control over the content that they post. Companies should be more honest about what they are doing with users information in the future.
Another vision I have for the future of digital media is that it becomes easier for people to receive the proper credit or compensation for the work they post online. According to Andrejevic, “The notion of exploitation is a recurring theme in critical accounts of the digital economy, although it is more often invoked than explained” (281). He believes that people are easily subjected to exploitation and rarely take action because they are unaware that it happening. We are privileged that with the rise of digital platforms it is just easier for people to share their creative works on social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook. This has allowed many unknown talent to rise to the forefront and be recognized for the work they have created.
However, there has also been instances where people have shared their creativity only for it to be plagiarized or reused by larger corporations without proper recognition. Sometimes those with a bigger name and platform can copy the design of those lesser known and claim it as their own. Putting your work online can be beneficial but it can also be risky as well.
Questions
1. Do you believe everyone should receive monetary compensation for using social media channels? If so, why or why not?
2. People seem to be concerned that machine will take over and maybe even control human life in the future. Will there ever be a time where we can trust machine completely?
Why Privacy No Longer Exists
Face it we’ve all been there. We sign up for a new social media site, maybe even filled out a job application or applied for a contest online and there comes that little box at the end. The terms and conditions are right there; sometimes you have to at least scroll down before you sign but most times you can easily just check that box saying that you read it and go about your day. But are we actually considering just exactly are in those terms and conditions and what rights we are giving away?
The tricky thing about the terms and conditions is that more often than not, we are consenting tho things we should probably know about. According to this article on Thrillist; some of the most popular sites have hidden clauses in their terms. For example, ITunes states that you do not actually own any of the music you buy and sites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook own rights to the content you post.
Source: CanStockPhoto.com
In the documentary “Terms and Conditions may Apply” I was intrigued by all the facts that I learned before that I never even considered. One thing I was shocked to hear is that if the average person actually read the terms and conditions they agreed to over a year it would take approximately a month to read. Could you imagine spending a month reading the terms and conditions for everything you agree to online? This makes it seem that they make these documents univiting to the average reader on purpose, because they are including things they do not everyone to be aware of.
Another fact I discovered was that phone companies have assisted the government in the past with wiretapping. This has always been a big controversy because many people are opposed to the idea of wiretapping in general. They see it as an invasion of your constitutional rights to have the government giving access to your private conversations. Before this documentary I assumed the government was able to access this information on their own. Now I understand that when we sign up for these phone plans and with these companies the terms and conditions most likely include that they they will possibly give up our information and we have already consented.
Shockingly, media sites like Facebook actually has bigger data files on people than any government agency. While the government has to research and build cases on people they seek out, Facebook on the other hand have people eagerly signing up to provide information to them for free. Facebook also changed their policies so that even if you delete information or your profile they will store your information FOREVER.
Questions:
Do you believe we should be compensated for our social media posts and profiles? If so, to what degree or level?
Wiretapping plays a huge part in this debate because people believe it is a violation of our privacy and/or rights/ Do you agree or disagree with the concept that “if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t be worried”?
Target Practice, Starring You
As humans and consumers it is very hard to pinpoint exactly when we shifted the way we view content. Very few remember the exact time they stopped buying magazines from the grocery store and relied on online sites to get their daily dose or celebrity gossip. Your parents may mention how they used to go to Blockbuster to rent movies but nowadays we could not imagine being unable to stream movies or music online. This same concept can be applied to advertising and marketing as well. We spent so much time embracing and using every new social media platform that came along that we did not notice the rise of digital surveillance and target marketing that started to be placed every time we visited these websites.
Now it is becoming more obvious to notice the target marketing that is taking place when browsing the internet.According to Andrejevic, Every message one writes, every video one posts, every item one buys or views, our time-space paths and patterns of social interaction all become data points in algorithms for sorting, predicting, and managing our behavior” (p. 10). These companies are using algorithms to make sure we see the ads they know we’ll be interested in and have a higher potential to click on. In a way you can see this as an effective strategy, they no longer have to waste time and money by advertising to people who are not their target consumer. However, from the consumer standpoint this becomes controversial; they are using our profile which we intended to use for enjoyment purposes to profit and make money.
For example, I am someone who works and goes to school, I do not have much time to go to stores so I usually spend a lot of time shopping online for what I need. Sometimes, I will go to a website a shop around for a little bit but do not complete my order; I may not want anything on that site, want to balance my budget before I checkout or simply get distracted by other websites. However, thanks to digital surveillance it is almost impossible for me to completely forget what I was shopping for. On many other websites, especially Facebook, an ad will pop up on the corner or the side reminding me that I was looking at these items and that it is still possible to complete my order. I know these ads are customized because they show me the exact items I was looking at before. Furthermore, the companies will even go as far as to send an email reminding me about these items as well.
Source: Google Images
Digital surveillance makes it easy for companies because all they have to do to attract new customers is grab their initial interest, and then they have the ability to keep baiting you until you are hooked. Andrejevic states “companies are able to track our movements, transactions, and communications without our permission or, in many cases, knowledge” (p. 4). Companies may believe they are liable to this information, but it would be helpful if the consumer knew what was happening as well. Before this article, I had no idea that every location I went was being tracked and stored by Google. No matter what your location preferences are, they are keeping a detailed catalog of everywhere you have been. I am sure if more people knew about this feature they will be a little more hesitant about the devices they are currently using and questioning why big companies have access to such pertinent information.
Questions
Do you believe you are using digital surveillance to your advantage? Has there ever been a time where you were grateful for target marketing or it led you to better decisionmaking?
What are some ways you can change or alter your digital footprint? Is there a way to outsmart digital surveillance or will there always be a way to track what you do online?
An Interview with an Millennial
I am interviewing my younger sister, Nekesha. She is a 21 year old college student who is interested in becoming an actor.
She speaks on using all social media platforms, however some more than others. Snapchat is what she uses most frequently, she likes the idea of not having to think to hard about your posts. She likes the facts that stories will disappear after 24 hours, and there is a sense of intimacy with what you are sharing to others .
The only platform where Neksha uses her full real name is; mainly because they require it. Right now her current Instagram is simply @Nekeesh because she likes the simplicity of still using part of her name yet not giving everything to people online. Also being an actor she is constantly thinking of how she wants her stage name to be represented in the future, and tries out different variations of her own name all the time.
Nekesha agrees that each of her social media account definitely show a different persona of who she is. Facebook is more family friendly; here she is more likely to upload a whole album of vacation photos and keep old friends and family members updated on what is going on in her life. Instagram however is just pictures so she tries to show herself at the best angle. This of course this means lots of selfies and pictures from exotic locations whenever she goes on trips. She also has accounts solely for work, such as Backstage a popular website used by up and coming actors and producers in the business. Her she uploads her acting resume and recent headshots and what her goals are for her career.
Nekesha admits that personas she sees on social media can be a blessing and a course. In a way they inspire her; it allows her to see how others use certain platforms such as Instagram to launch themselves as a brand, which is admirable. At the same time, sometimes constantly following the success of others can be a little bit intimidating. At times you find yourself comparing yourself to theirs, and comparing their success to yours. She admits it is sometimes to good to get away from social media and focus on what makes you happy.
Speaking with Nekesha really made me think about not just my presence online but the people who I connect with online as well. According to Turkle, “Cyberspace is made up of communities, virtual communities, in which we participate with people all over the world, people with who we converse daily, people with whom we may have fairly intimate relationships but whom we may never physically meet (pgs. 9-10). The online community has allowed us to be much more open to the world around us then we were previously. We no longer need to be face to face in order to connect with others, we can do it right from the comfort of out own home. And if we do not feel comfortable in our own space virtual reality allows us to create our own version of life ar times.
In chapter five Atique states “participants in online forums were seen to compensate for the lack of social cues by expressing themselves in new ways, such as the early use of emoticons to provide a graphical representation of the mood of the writer”,(Atique,118). This point further proves that people use online forums as a medium to express themselves especially when it comes to creativity and sharing common interests. As time goes on people are finding more and more ways to use cyberspace in a posit i.e. Way to show off their talent or connect with people with similar interests.
QUESTIONS
1. Do you feel pressure to show your accomplishments on social media and prove yourself to others?
2. Are there any social media platforms you dislike and use solely because it is popular?
Google Home: Your New Personal Assistant
Long gone are the days of having to be a celebrity or V.I.P to acquire a personal assistant to help your home or office needs. Thanks to modern technology you can now get the help you need for the low cost of $129 thanks to Google Home.
Unlike previous technology induced personal assistants like Amazon Echo and Siri, Google Home sets itself apart by being able to serve as a smart control center for the whole family. It’s Wifi speaker services offeres many options such as being able to stream music from the cloud, as well as through your ios or Android device. It’s voice command feature is its best feauture, allowing you to control multiple media tools in your house. With the right smarthome attributes set up you can control lights, doors, do internet searches as well as set alarms and timers.
This article does a good job of analyzing what sets Google Home apart from it’s competitors. In “What is New Media”, Manovich poses the question, “What are the ways in which the use of computers to record, store, create and distribute media makes it “new”? (page 20). When launching a product such as this one people are going to automatically compare it to similar products on the market such as Apple’s Siri or the Amazon Echo. The writer makes sure to point out that this productcan service the whole family as opposed to just one person as well as how Google Home’s fact checking capabilities are more accurate due to its access to Google’s long running search engine. Google Home is not neccessarily a brand new idea, but it has built on a conceptthat is already out and found a new way to make it innovative.
Overall, I believed the writer of this article had a strong analysis of the product. They stated all of qualities and capabilities and what makes it standout in the market. However, the article was very positive, and did not list at all any downsides to Google Home that may be a concern for the consumer. For example many of the Smarthome features such as access to lights, doors or speakers would require you to already have certain smart devices installed in your home or the willingness to obtain these features. The article fails to mention that certain aspects of Google Home would not work if your home is not compatible.
Questions:
- Do you believe that a product like Google Home will thrive in the market, or is it too much of a replica of what has already been done?
- These three companies; Amazon, Apple and Google are constantly at the forefront of the technology industry. Why do you believe they have managed to sustain these positions for so long?
When TV and Web Collide
I have to admit that I have a love for television that rivals my love for the internet. I like many others enjoy binge-watching; the act of watching an entire series or special in just one day while mourning the end of a great show simultaneously. However, I take it even further when I bring my obsession over to the internet. That is why even though this post required us to spend an hour surfing the internet I actually believe I dedicated much more time dedicated to this assignment based on my habits.
After watching a television program I usually take to IMDB to read the trivia, fun facts and opinions from others about what I have just watched. In this case I had just finished watching the three part mini-series on music group New Edition, and took to the internet to see how others felt about what I considered to be one of the greatest biopics I have ever watched. IMDB is a wonderful source of news but also a good way to kill time on the internet. Whenever you think you have run out of information you can simply click on a link and find more. When I wasn’t reading the message board comments I was clicking on links of the actors, finding out about past projects of theirs and what they would be doing next. Then if they were in a previous show that I was familiar with I would find myself on that IMDB page, repeating the process over again.
Image Source: BET.com
In a pre-digital age I probably would not have had the same experience. I remember watching shows when I was younger and going back to school the next day and discussing it amongst my peers. There was no Twitter to post my comments and I was not on message boards reading the opinions of strangers. If the people close to me did not watch the same thing I just kept my comments and opinions to myself. However, while I do still discuss TV shows amongst my peers it is much easier to go online and see what people are saying while things are actually happening.
Computerization and digitization improve human activity because it makes everything easily accessible. Knowledge is much easier to obtain, if you are unfamiliar with something a simple Google search will solve that. If you want to find someone you lost contact with you can search and find their Facebook page.The negativity of the digital revolution comes with Communication amongst others. Often we are so obsessed with what is going on in the media world that we neglect the people around us. We go out to eat with friends and instead of talking to each other we spend time texting others who are not there. People often forget to live in the moment, there is a need to take a picture or record a video instead of taking in wherever you may be and simply enjoying ourselves. The digital era is making us so lost in the web that we forget the world right around us.
Questions
- Do you see digital media taking a personal effect on your own relationships with others?
- What would you do believe is the future of digital media? Will it expand to something bigger than it already is or will a new form of media take place?