Author: s.kim16

Pessiotipmist’s View of Digital Future.

The future of digital communication will enhance the quality of life through technologies related to health, education, and even social media which creates a global community. For instance, as Aron Roberts, who is the software developer at University of California-Berkeley, puts wearable devices that can assist people to make ongoing lifestyle changes and provide information not only just about diseases but also about the early detection of disease indicators  (4,Digital life in 2025). Thus, these wearable devices that can detect and prevent future illness should be kept and continuously developed.

In addition to the medical delivery system, the advanced educational technology which enables online lectures and allows people to meet in a virtual space instead of a physical classroom. Also, online dating has been so viral that people can meet potential girlfriends and boyfriends through the application on their smartphones with just one click.

However, my concern here is that with the advancements of technology that allows time saving, and creation of numerous dating apps, people are not committing to a serious love relationship and also  a serious friendship. Compared to the generation that did not have such technological advancements, nowadays people interact through virtual reality platforms such as Whatsapp, snapchat, and Facebook. It became so easy for people to just meet and easily abandon relationships aloof to commitment.

Furthermore, with the development, the configuration and mechanisms are complex. This feature can result in limitation of accessibility only for those who know and are aware of the technology. As a result, there will be a gap between “media consumption” as we have discussed in class. There are social elites (cultural elitism) who know the information but at the same time there are ordinary people who are not accustomed to the technology. In addition, there are people who are economically challenged or in third world countries who cannot afford them.

On the other hand, with the connections to globalization, the political awareness and action can be accelerated through social media fundraising  (5,Digital life in 2025). For further information on social media for educational uses in third world countries take a look at this.

In conclusion, as pessioptimist, I believe that the future of digital communication is useful in the sense of enhancing people’s health, educational system, and political awareness; but how we weigh the relationship in the virtual reality should be taken into further consideration. Also, the digital commodities should be accessible to everyone regardless of social status.

 

  1. Do you believe that social media can enhance the quality of your life?
  2. Do you believe your relationship would have been better if there was no digital media?

I was too naive.

Okay, so at first, I was confused that Toy Smart company sold their customer’s personal information when they declared bankruptcy. They’ve stated that they would never share information under any circumstance according to their policy. It was irritating and foreshadowed danger that personal information provided for any company would not be in  a safe place.

As shown in the video, all of the activities people conduct on their iphones can be used as resources for companies and even the government. Looking at Robert (director of FBI) who shook hands with Mark Zuckerberg appreciating his genius idea of having people post their personal information which could be extracted by the FBI.

Maybe I was a person who was so naïve to be part of the digital society. Before taking this class, I was not aware of how much  surveillance we were under. Sharing of ideas, photos, daily activities through Facebook and Instagram could be monitored by the FBI, NSA, or AOL.

The most shocking scene in the video was when three people shared their consequences of sharing violent thoughts on their social media. How are people suppose to be aware of the fact that joking around with bad words on tweeters or Facebook would trigger a warning and involve the FBI to inspect their house and designating them as “potential criminals”

In addition, when it was said that “ data” can be deleted from the site but not actually gone, I was in shock becaus I recalled all the embarassing photos I’ve tagged myself in. I had intended to delete them but those would be deleted completely . I also remembered some comments and posts that I wrote when I was young without much thought.

Shockingly, the attitude that Mark Zuckerberg shows on the video seems to reflect an irresponsible attitute towards protecting his users. He was saying the users feel free to post their information because they trust him. Are we part of a cult made by Mark Zuckerberg in which we are willing to sacrifice our privacy and dedicate our personal information?. As stated in the reading, commercial entities like Facebook exploits users personal information without effort and at the same time monitors, records, aggregates, stores, and are sorted(284, Andrejevic). How could he as CEO of Facebook who has over 1 billion users speak in such way even if it was a joke, ignoring that the information is monitored and abused for commercials or government surveillance?

As the kid in the video, people create an account on social media as a platform to freely express themselves. We live in a world dominated by democracy and have the  right to freely  speak up and share our ideas. However, as  they speak up, they are being “red flagged” and are being inspected and categorized as “potential criminals” sometimes ruining one’s vacation. It completely goes well with Lessig’s statement that “cyberspace is a perfect tool of control” First,  it aroused as an icon for freedom; however, taking a closer look, the digital society is well constructed in a way that government would be monitoring and ringing the alarm for the police to come to the door. Thus, in my respect, I see the power distribution is set by government which is at the highest rank then the companies are helping the government to gather data, and we are molecules living in a controlled society.

 

  1. Most of the time, we do not read “term of conditions” which we have to, how should we raise awareness of the importance of reading?
  2. Digital society has spread and developed exponentially; however, people are not aware of the level of exposure of privacy. What are suggestions would you make for change?

Hit “Likes” and See your Future.

I see that Instagram and Facebook are correlated. I use Instagram to plunge myself in all the pictures of people that I follow which range from pictures of cute puppies, foods (mostly healthy or some brand-new restaurants in NYC), Victoria Secrets, to just pictures of my friends. I found out on a Facebook page, there weren’t only posts made by my friends and pages based on interest, but also videos section that all relate to my “likes” in Instagram.

Facebook was recommending videos or commercials based on my interests. It was giving me tempting messages that said “exclusive offer” or “sign up today and get 10% discount”. It shows that it was tracking all my “likes” and storing data from Instagram and placing related advertisements on Facebook.” The practice of data mining is not conceived of as a historical review of past activity for its own sake, but rather as a mathematically precise technique for predicting the future action of individuals (page 354, Under Scrutiny). To me, it is acceptable that marketers are collecting data and offering promotions. There are over four hundred unread emails composed mainly of advertisements in my inbox but it is useful when it comes to making consumer choices. When I go searching for lunch, I simply go on Facebook or Instagram to receive recommendations by looking at all the pictures of dishes or commercials. I know I am an appropriate target for marketers but it gives me convenience, which saves my time.

To be honest, I was not always aware of such digital surveillance until I learned it in depth in this class. I was just so careful of what I post on Instagram because I did not want someone whom I am not familiar with hitting likes on my pictures and sharing my photo that depicted my daily routine. Thus, I created a new Instagram account and set all the settings to private. I added friends that I identified with in the real world. Other than that, I was not fully aware that all my digital movements were recorded and digital society respond in marketing ways that shaped my consumer behavior. 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.(page10 ,Mark).

In regards of “electronic panopticon”, it does hinder me doing from “illegal activities”. Now it is so prevalent that people share individual work through digital media. Sometimes it is so unclear to identify if sharing the photos are illegal or not. However, I try my best to avoid doing piracy because I respect the amount of work and the copyright involved. It is all about the efforts and knowledge, which I do not want to abuse.  Also, committing crimes with disregards to severity is not a preferable lifestyle. No one wants to be arrested for prosecution. Thus, in this respect, it prevents me from doing                 illegal activities.

  1. Imagine your country changes regulation for digital society in a very disciplined setting just as China or North Korea does. How would you react? How would you also change your behavior?

  1. Do you see the commercials relating to your interests based on data mining with an optimistic view or a negative view? Please explain why you think so.

 

It’s just a “Frame”.

I interviewed my best friend, Will, who goes to New York University and studies hotel management. He has used several social media platforms such as myspace,snapchat,twitter,facebook, back when he was young and linkedin now that he is about to enter the labor force.Now he only uses facebook and linkedin because some of the platforms mentioned before has disappeared or are not in use nowadays.

Typically he uses his real name for these platforms so that people can communicate through them. But in the past he has used fake names for different accounts in facebook in order to gain benefits from various game entertainment websites. He did not use them in order to conduct fraud but he simply used them to gain advantages in various games.It shows how it is easy to duplicate one’s self in virtual reality. This digital liberation allow people to become multidimensional beings, something more than physical selves     (page 127).

Facebook, snapchat and Myspace are social media platforms that relate to his personal life so it shows more of his daily life. He uses them mainly to communicate with different people and show the gist of how he is living and his whereabouts. As stated in the reading, “the distinctive aspect of contemporary social media, is their capacity to integrate online social networks with those formed in the physical context of daily life(page174)”.In contrast, Linkedin is a social media platform which represents more of his business side. Anything job related would be shown on Linkedin such as abilities or special skillsets that can land jobs.

He thinks digital personas has and will create new problems because the representation from the personas can be perceived differently depending on the individual who goes through his social media. Back in highschool, he experienced and observed many cases in which social media personas were interpreted differently which caused as little as arguments to real fights. People hold grudges based on some of the actions that he has done. He thinks that sometimes people go overboard and exaggerate and criticize certain behavior and especially with the impact and influence social media platforms have, there will be more problems that will rise. He thinks nothing good comes out of social media and sharing.

Computer allows us to share everyday of our life that we talk, share ideas, and create communities. People often use Instagram to post their good experiences such as going to nice bars, restaurants, or having spa days. Those who follow these people could misunderstand and think that fancy life is just an ordinary life for them. However, they overlook the fact that the people who seem to have fancy life might havedifferent aspects of life. They could be just like people who loves to eat out spending all of money on restaurants but living in a small apartment. One frame of  picture on the virtual life does not define their entire daily life. People should be aware of this and should not feel relative depreation because of the “frame”.

  1.  Have you ever met anyone who lives so differently on social media compared to thier real life?
  2. Is there any social media that you want to get back that is no longer exists or popular?

Are you Smart Enough for Smart Mirrors?

Technology is arising and rapidly developing to accommodate the needs of  society. The development of technology is also profound in the clothing industry these days. Smart mirror has been currently launched and many retailers are looking into its functions with expectations to increase sales.

The author tries to see if smart mirrors are a big technological innovation in shopping industries. The writer questions whether the shopping experience would be enhanced and  return on investment would be increased by helping sales associates.

The author uses several examples to explain how smart mirrors function. First, Macy’s introduced the smart dressing room in 2010.

Secondly, Me-Ality is a body scanning and measurement device that can generate a user profile for better fitting. Thirdly, Styku is a portable 3D body scanning platform that is mainly for designers instead of consumers. The author states that these technologies helped designing better smart mirrors. Fourth, 4D Retail Technology Magic Corp’s 4D Magic Mirror display, which has a long name, has a virtual assistant. The e-assistant answers key questions and gives advice. Fifth, RFID technology (fitting room) offers different kinds of fitting rooms. The technology helps customers to get immediate assistance and to communicate with a sales representative. Furthermore, customers can even make a purchase. Lastly, the Memomi’s Memory Mirror tracks a customer’s movements and accelerates the realism of the new look by showing the texture of garments (Weinswig).

(Photo : Love, Julia, Memomi’s Memory Mirror)

The writer analyzes the functions of the mirror by showing many examples of actual smart mirrors in actual stores. She mainly focuses on how the technology works.However, she has doubts about the cost of installing smart mirrors and whether the customers will adopt to this technology.

Her analysis focuses more on the fucntions of the mirros instead of stating examples of customer feedback. For instance, she could have given surveys and conducted interviews. Also, she complains about the cost of a mirror implementation. I would suggest that she states the cost of installment and compare it with the ordinary mirror installations in clothing shops.

     There are three media principles of Lee Manovich that apply to Smart Mirrors. They are: “Numerical Representation”,”Automation”, and “Variability”. Numerical representation which is stated in the reading : all new media objects that are converted from analog media sources are composed of digital code(page49) which is a great example that shows the analog image of body in the mirror that is being converted to pixels on the screen.

     The second example is the 4D Retail Technology Magic Corp’s 4D Magic Mirror display which relates to the automation principle. Since automation enables auto-manipulation and access, this technology enhances the communication and interaction by having the automated assistance system.

Lastly, variability is a new media object that is not something fixed and can exist in different yet potentially infinite version (page59); it has many relations with Smart Mirror. Take an example of memomi’s memory mirror, which follows a customer’s real-time movements and shows how the outfit would look on a customer. In addition to this,  the machine’s functions keep data which can be sent through wires and enables immediate delivery (page56). This describes how the fitting room works. As stated in the previous paragraph, fitting room enables customers to make a purchase while they are still in the fitting room. Another example that relates to variability principle is 4.3 module which talks about the interactive computer installations which use information about the user’s body movements to generate sounds, shapes, images to control behaviors of artificial creatures(page57). It all applies to the function of smart mirrors.

Reading this article, it surely benefits customer by reducing the hassle-time spending on taking on and off clothes; however, I also question the technology to fulfil the actual look. Furthermore, since all the techonologies are being so sophiscated, imagning myself in the world that bases everything on technology, I would feel scared rather than in awe..

  1. Do you think you would like to go shopping with these smart mirrors installed? Why? What aspects do you like or not like about it?
  2. Is there any techonology that could replace or enhance the shopping experience? Or can you think of fashion shows which uses high-technology.

 

Works Cited

Love, Julia. “With smart mirror, shopping trips become solo fashion shows.” The Mercury News. The Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
Weinswig, Deborah . “Are Magic Mirrors the next big thing? January 22, 2015 .” Chain Store Age. Chain Store Age., 22 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. <http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/are-magic-mirrors-next-big-thing>.

 

Digital Media All Around Me

After class at 5:25pm, I was heading to Chipotle getting excited about the combination of chicken, salsa, corns, and guacamole. I was checking all the Chipotle chains around my college through Yelp app, today I chose the one at Union Square. Having a seat in there, I was looking at all posts in Instagram while crunching lettuce. Then I got a notification from Facebook that my friend tagged me on the brief video about the movie called “the King” which we saw last night. Then back to Instagram, my friend was on live taking all the videos of what she was having for dinner in K-town. Then my friend Chris texted me to see if I was still enjoying Chipotle. Of course, I took a picture of my lovely Chipotle to show him. I looked at all the photos and hit likes on my interests such as some models wearing nice outfits, and the mouthwatering food photos. After that, switched to Facebook and I started to hit likes on every interesting event going on in NYC, such as central park ice festival, rooftop party, cherry blossom festival, and quiet clubbing. Then I got a notification that someone requested to be a friend on my Instagram, but I didn’t accept right away because I know the guy was at my roommate’s birthday party but we hadn’t talked to each other so much at that night. I got an email from equinox saying they would like to inform me about the promotion that I requested. I had totally forgotten that I had signed up for information after seeing the promotion advertised on Facebook.

chipotle

 

I realized how I am so addicted to digital media. I am constantly on social media whatever I do, except during the class when phones are prohibited. I chat, phone call, check emails, do Instagram and Facebook, and watch Korean drams through my IPad. These activities definitely occur only with the existence of digital media. I imagined what my life would look like if all the digital media are gone, then my life would be just reading books and maybe I will force myself to try to do some work out.

As stated in the reading, computerization makes the most of complex tasks into efficiency and reduces human errors. The development has also spread to domestic environment that women could use the time they had used in domestic tasks in the paid workforce. Since then, the acceleration of technological revolution finally gave a birth to “Internet” that led to globalization. People could communicate and share all the information and thoughts through digital media all around the world. As Castells mentioned, the interconnections so called “the nodes” in the network society are the real or the virtual places where information converge (Couldry 16).”

However, since the computerized society has arisen, those who are outside of the information age have to rapidly adapt to all of the pressures of mobility, and constantly shifting patterns of connectivity. Otherwise they would remain in social isolation and material destitution(Couldry 17). In addition to this, the first development of computational machines led to the development of military applications such as missiles and atomic bomb.

With that being said, the development of technologies improved human’s life in speed, convenience, and abundance of information; however, it also causes the maladaptation to society and the more developed but brutal military weapons.

 

  1. What are the professions that will disappear in the future because of the development of these technologies? Or Are there any jobs that you miss that have already become obsolete or been replaced?

 

  1. If you could develop one machine or technology, what would it be, and why?