Daniel's Blog

Evaluation

danielbernards — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:04:33 +0000

I have enjoyed this class. The class forced critical thinking, and allowed for engaging learning processes. The abstinence blog was great, for it provided us with the realization that the internet is a tremendous part of our lives and that we may be more dependent on the internet than we originally thought. The media assignment was good, especially with the variety of choices available. The assignment provided examples of internet use and in two cases portrayed dorky stereotypes. The Facebook/MySpace assignment was important for the course, especially because we have lived the emergence of both in our lifetimes. The assignment helped us analyze who we are online, which is important to realize given the prevalence of online communities. The letter assignment sucked because it took more effort than the previous assignments. The outcome was positive though, exposing the real differences that exist between different forms of communication. The academic paper was alright, but had the least impact on my learning from this course. The lack of results from this assignment was probably due to my laziness and love of cutting corners. I used the two books as sources, making the assignment easy and relatively ineffective. The internet community assignment wasn’t very fun for me, especially because I try to stay away from online interaction as much as possible. I don’t like what looks like society’s transition from the real world to cyberspace, so I’m kind of on strike for extensive online communicating. Valuing real interaction made getting deeper involved with the internet unappealing. My love for sports made the assignment tolerable, and some learning did take place. The interview assignment was also a pain in the ass, but ended up being a great learning experience. The wild card assignment was awesome because of the freedom that went along with the assignment. I was able to talk about something I found interesting or at least easy and this created a natural time to reflect on my online communication. The misuse assignment was great and extremely important for the course. Internet misuse is becoming increasing prevalent and we needed to spend time on the issue. This assignment is alright, but maybe in the future should only have to be 300 words.
In the future I would not change much. The spacing of assignments provided an easy way to manage the class with the rest of our lives. I didn’t like doing the reading at all, but many times the chapters easily related with the week’s topic. Sometimes the book didn’t relate to the topic very well though, and I might not grade down for the lack of book referencing because the references often derail the blog’s direction. The word count requirements were good, because if you needed 50 words but only had 30 then you would need to think deeper into the information. Overall I actually enjoyed this class, and that is a difficult thing to say. I have become more aware of the prevalence of the internet, I have become more exposed to the future of communication, and I’ve been able to reflect on aspects of my own communication.

Internet Misuse

danielbernards — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:44:38 +0000

Fox News provided a story involving the eight most widely distributed photoshopped internet pictures. One picture involved a man on top of the World Trade Center posing for a picture while a plane is coming towards him in the background. Another picture had President Obama with a cigarette in his mouth. There was another picture with Sarah Palin in a bikini resembling the American flag holding a gun. Another picture involved a shark leaping out of the water towards a man on a ladder connected to a helicopter. Every picture looks exceptionally real, and all are completely fake. The misuses of the photographs are demonstrated through the misleading and fabricated presentation. The ease of transferring information has made these photographs extremely popular, and you have maybe even seen the pictures from Facebook or emails. If taken seriously the pictures could compromise the reputations of the people being represented. The 9/11 picture is sick and demonstrates a lack of compassion and consideration for those involved. The shark is less harmful but can regress people’s intelligence with false knowledge.
The photoshopped pictures are examples of technopoly taking over. Postman explains that technopoly emphasizes “progress without limits, rights without responsibilities, and technology without cost. The Technopoly story is without a moral center” (p. 179). Technology as simple as photoshop follows his ideas. The technology progresses without any real concern over the technology being negative for society. Photoshopping is seen as harmless and rarely do these situations become a legal matter. Photoshop and the connection the internet provides have little moral direction. Spreading the pictures to the popularity they have achieved represents the freedom and capacity the internet provides. I thought the Palin and Obama pictures were funny, but to others the pictures could be seen as slanderous and insulting. Postman emphasizes the freelance landscape of technology. Progress is seen as positive and negative outcomes are overshadowed by technological advancement.
I do not see any of the pictures as negative except for the 9/11 plane photograph. The picture was flawlessly created, but projected tremendous insensitivity. I do not feel like we can do anything to prevent these pictures from being made popular. The pictures work as gossip. They are interesting and thus are readily exposed to others. I think stopping the spread of these pictures would be as difficult as driving past an accident without slowing down. People are fascinated by unique and out of the ordinary pictures, stories, and events. The pictures of Sarah Palin and Obama could have been shared to create laughter, the shark picture could have been shared to entertain, and the 9/11 plane picture could have been shared in order to find truth among other variables. As society I wonder if we are capable of holding in our urges to spread interesting information. I also wonder how much worse the internet has been for the spreading of gossip. We are a culture of sharing information and the internet has made the process much more instant as well as convenient.

Wild Card!

danielbernards — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:31:15 +0000

I work for a company in Portland, but have not been able to work very much lately with school transportation costs. I worked for the company over the summer and felt the need to keep in contact with them as much as possible in order to transition into working there full time after I graduate. Now is the time of year when employees get their mid-year review. During the review a manager talks to you about your progress, and the manager and the employee discuss future goals.
In order for me to go through the mid-year review my manager sent me the form used for the meeting using email. She told me to look over the form and fill out certain areas. If I was in Portland she would have given me the form and I would have filled out certain areas and then met with her afterwards. We set a date for a phone interview to go over the material. We talked about the review over the phone, but not in incredible depth. I was able to work the following week so we had a formal review at that point.
The internet made this situation convenient. Instead of having to head back to Portland we were able to go through with the review using the internet and the telephone. The interview was not very efficient using the methods, but they worked nonetheless. My manager and I would have much preferred to do the interview in person to begin with, but the review needed to happen and the internet worked.
Although the internet worked, doing the review in person would have been much more effective. Physical interactions are much more effective because you can see how the other person is responding, and job reviews are an important time to see these cues. Being able to finish the review in person was important because I got a complete feel for how I am doing with the company. The lack of nonverbal communication on the internet and phone make for an incomplete way of communicating.
Wood and Smith talk about the divide with demographics and internet usage. They explain that certain races and social classes lag in internet usage. With email becoming a standard in businesses as well as schooling the lagging groups are definitely at a disadvantage. If I didn’t have internet access my manager might have thought that I was less capable. If I didn’t have the internet I would have been forced to come in in order to complete the review. The internet is the standard in the U.S. Wood and Smith also compare the internet to the television as far as being standard in households. The internet has become essential to society. People need to feel connected. I believe the loss of internet connection would create a similar response to those worrying about digital transition for televisions. As a society we need connection. Were we fine without the overwhelming connection before the internet? Yes. Would we be fine without the overwhelming connection if the internet was gone now? That is a tough one. As a society I believe we are addicted to connection, and I also believe that people without the internet are at a disadvantage in the eyes of the public. Personally I admire those people not tied to the internet. I compare them to people that don’t need caffeine to get their day going. I do need caffeine to get my day going, and I am becoming more dependent every day.

Generational Interviews

danielbernards — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:21:56 +0000

I interviewed my 22 year old roommate, my mom who is in her mid to late 40s, and my grandma who is in her 80s. The three generations shared few similarities. My roommate uses the internet to download music, connect with friends, check grades and assignments, find answers to questions he has, and follow sports. My mom uses the internet to check email and work from home when need be. My grandma has never been connected to the internet and is more familiar with typewriters. My buddy is completely comfortable with the internet, and my mom says she is as well even though she probably isn’t. My opinion is that she wants to feel technologically competent so she tells me she is. My grandma told me she doesn’t see any use in ever messing with the internet.
Technology has definitely changed my mom as well as my friend’s lives. My roommate can find whatever information he wants with little effort and my mom can work from home and stay in contact with others through email. My grandma has not been overly affected by technology and continues to listen to Mariner games on the radio. If we count radio as technology then her life has changed, for without the radio she would spend more time sewing or gardening.
The easiest interpretation of technological change is that advancements have improved our lives. Accessing information at a faster and easier fashion has improved my roommate’s knowledge, and bringing work home has made my mom’s life more convenient. If technology was negative in their eyes then they would be less likely to participate in using the internet. Their opinions on technology can be biased because they are involved in the matter. My roommate likes the internet, but sees the technology as standard due to a lifetime of experience with the technology. My mom raves about how she is able to finish her work at home and in the process can skip a day of going to work. Grandma Millie likes her radio and four channels on television just fine.
The youngest generation is spoiled. We remember the sounds of dial-up, but the awful screeching sounds have been the worst of our technological experience. The 36-60 generation values the internet much more than the youngest generation, and people like my mom believe they have a good handle on how to use the technology. The oldest generation in some cases want nothing to do with the internet.
I see the relationship with old people and the internet being like a person 40 yards away from a MAX train that has just arrived. The person has two choices – to make the effort to run and hopefully make the train, or realize they won’t make it in time and continue walking. For older people technological advancements such as the internet take a great deal of effort to master and understand. Does the 70 year old want to adopt the internet and deal with the learning curve, or do they see the MAX as unimportant and continue to live their normal lives?
Postman explains that in technopoly people think that only through the autonomy of techniques can a person achieve one’s goals. Older people are accustomed to their regular way of life. The internet and other technological advancements only interfere with their life goals. We as society feel as though technological advancements are great, especially because the word advancement is usually used a positive thing. The generational gaps provide insight to different groups’ priorities. The youngest generation has lived with the internet since its birth and will continue to do so. The middle generation caught the internet with enough time to adopt but probably generally have less of a skill set in using the internet. The older generation has lived too long to adopt the internet, and have done fine without the internet for several years.
As a society are we a slave to our surroundings? Do you think there are 20 year olds in the U.S. that have never used the internet? I believe our society lives by their generation, with each age group sharing a unique bond. I also believe that the differences between generations also expose technology’s impact on society.

Internet Community

danielbernards — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:45:38 +0000

I chose ESPN.com for the place of my internet group. I have been a constant visitor of their website, but did not know one could become an ESPN member. In joining the wide world of sports internet community I created a member name (the maniel) as well as a profile. The profile included picking my favorite teams and sports, giving my location, and giving my school history. In the community one can invite friends, send messages, pick winners for sports events, and take part in conversations.
I would guess that most people in the online community mostly just pick games, but a surprising amount of people do use the site as a discussion board. The conversation link pulls up heavily commented on topics. I am hating my sports life these days with the Mariners and Seahawks collaboratively sucking, but the NFL draft is just months away. One conversation I participated in involved who the Seahawks should take with their fourth pick in the draft. I assimilated into the community completely after my first post.
Sports discussions generally do not have high levels of acceptance, especially because many people feel as though they are experts. I found myself accepted in the community whenever someone responded to my posts. If no one responded to what I had to say then I did not feel like I was a part of the community. Based on how many people post afterwards can indicate the level of acceptance. Agreement and argument are both responses that validate acceptance.
Agreements and disagreements are often expressed and rarely if ever resolved. The reason many people are interested in sports is because of the competitive feel. Agreement or resolution of conflict feels like a tie. Ties are bad, because competitive people like to win. At ESPN.com when disputes are resolved then there is no reason for conversation.
The community would be much bigger if it weren’t for Hauben’s definition of non-participants. I have been a lurker in the community. I would still be a lurker if it weren’t for this project. I enjoy not contributing, and for that reason I haven’t been a member of the community in the past. Apparently I was exercising netiquette, for rule number three for Wood and Smith explain the need to “lurk before you leap”.
Society obviously needs more of a sense of community, because unmet demand of belonging is being supplied virtually. I think that people might also be shifting their communities. With the ease of the internet some people may by substituting actual communities with virtual groups. Each blog I write seems to revert back to the public’s growing dependence on the internet. I can’t help but write from that angle again. Was our society in need of community before the internet? Did I not have people to debate with in regards to sports before ESPN.com? Is there really an unfilled void of personal connection within our everyday lives? I want to say no to all three of those questions. I wonder if people in society have just integrated their lives onto the computer due to the internet aggressively integrating into how they operate. Internet communities aren’t the devil, but could they be a symptom of the lovable cancer society has been diagnosed with that is the internet?

Sources

danielbernards — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:38:58 +0000

The topic for my academic paper would be the growing dependence people have to the internet. The sources I would use would be Neil Postman’s book Technopoly, Andre F. Wood and Matthew J. Smith’s book Online Communication, and a website from Villanova University on the topic. I evaluate the two books as credible because they were required texts for the Comm 385 class. Postman explains in Chapter 5 that school is used as a mechanism for information control. Curriculums describe the necessary topics of information as well as the focus of knowledge transferred to the student. Because the books are required for learning the specified material I believe they are the most credible available sources for information. Villanova University’s website is titled “Internet Dependence”. The source is credible because it too is an educational institution. All three sources are focused towards educating people about the impact of the internet or technology.
The information brings the value of truth. We are taught through these sources, and these sources were chosen by the people who judge our scholastic success. The agreement between the sources and our educational advisors creates a common relationship. I feel as though I cannot go wrong choosing these sources because they are already of value to the experts guiding me in education. The information from the books is believable to the instructor, and realistically that is the main void to fill. My main concern is receiving a decent grade, not connecting with my paper. If the information from the book looks credible to the person grading the paper then the sources were successful. As a professor I would find the Comm 385 books credible and believable sources. The Villanova University source might be a tougher source to agree with. As a professor from different school I may judge the school for being different, and may be protective and biased. If I saw Villanova as a credible university then I would probably see the source as credible and the information believable.
Based on the sources found I would evaluate my research skills as suspect. As a professor I would either be proud that the information I thought was important was used, or I would perceive the student as lazy for not looking past the required text. I would see the Villanova source as a credible source, but would want more than just one source that is not found from the class. I would be happy that the student did not use Wikipedia, even though my students always find a lot of good information there. Professors always want sources that could be found in print, so I would urge the student to find sources from a newspaper or journal.
The guidelines for this assignment involve information control. As Postman explains, institutions teach us using relevant information and not using irrelevant information. If I were to write this week’s blog on Alex Rodriguez ruining baseball I would be using irrelevant information and not using relevant information. The rules for functioning in the assignment are to present information in agreement with my claim that society is growing dependent to the internet. The oversimplified claim needs evidence to strengthen the theory. A professor does not want manufactured expertise (Wikipedia). The professor wants research; the application of practical wisdom that allows people to learn. Postman explains that technical machinery and expertise will ruin society, and for that reason Google searches cannot create sources of education.
Society finds too much comfort in numbers and answers. Certainty feels good, but are we trading assurance for intellect? Does the ease of searching the internet for answers rot our intellect? Are we even giving our brain a workout anymore? The value of sources comes from the effort and mental exertion taken in finding the information. Sources for papers represent endeavors for learning. Are we becoming a culture that values ease above all else? I feel as though the fascination with technology overshadows the true effects it is putting on our society. We need to move from a society that transfers information into a society that learns and acquires knowledge.

Works Cited

Postman, Neil. Technopoly : The Surrender of Culture to Technology. New York: Vintage, 1993.

Villanova University. 09 Feb. 2009 .

Wood, Andrew F., and Matthew J. Smith. Online Communication : Linking Technology, Identity and Culture. Danbury: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Incorporated, 2004.

Letters

danielbernards — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:13:38 +0000

I decided to write to Grandma Millie and my cousin Chad for this assignment. Can you guess what form of mail I used for these two? I used pen and paper as well as an envelope to voice my gratitude and thanks to my grandma for being so great all these years. I used Blackberry Messenger to let my cousin know he has been a great mentor. I know this isn’t email, but he does all of his emails on his phone, and they show up in the same place so I thought it was similar enough. These messages, as you might guess, were a little different in tone, length, and language.
The letter I wrote to my grandma had the heading “Dear Grandma Millie,” and ended with “Love, Daniel”. I used my best penmanship and crafted each sentence thoughtfully before finalizing them with writing. The letter made no mention of a class project, but explained my appreciation and thanks alone. I ended the body of my message hoping that all is well and stating that next time I’m home that I will be sure to stop by. When I finished the letter I reviewed it to make sure I didn’t spell anything wrong. I sent her the letter five days ago and have not gotten a response back yet.
The message I sent to my 27 year old cousin began with “Hey shithead, how’ve you been?” and ended with “Try to get back to me by Sunday. I have to write a paper about your response”. The majority of the message was heartfelt, but a lot less formal than the one I sent my grandma. I put little thought into the conversation, and typed out the message quickly. Chad messaged me back two hours after the email was sent. He responded with thanks, reassurance that I can continue to come to him for advice, and gloated in the fact that I was doing homework while he was doing much cooler activities.
Wood & Smith explain that although people have different opinions about whether the internet is impersonal, interpersonal, or hyperpersonal for communicating what really matters are one’s perception of the experience. I was having trouble relating this project to the book until I found that idea. My opinion is that the internet is an impersonal use of communication. Because my cousin knows me well he does not need to see the nonverbal cues to understand that when I call him a shithead I am just being playful. My tone and language in my grandma’s letter were more conservative because I did not want to distort her perception due to the lack of nonverbal cues. Because I see text based communicating as impersonal I am dependent on the receiver’s real perceptions of me.
Snail mail is special. The messages are tangible, and represent time and effort. Time and effort are two things Americans try to minimize. Many technologies succeed because of the ability to help Americans save time or minimize efforts. The internet has capitalized on saving people time, and allowing them to exert less energy. Writing to my grandma was a much larger task; I had to find an envelope, find a stamp, get her address from my parents, try not to misspell, and figure out if we had a mailbox. The process was time consuming and was more of an endeavor. Because of the energy put forth the message was much more special, and much more meaningful. I wonder if email, along with various other factors of the internet, has the power to devalue relationships period. We are moving in the direction of an increasingly connected World, and I hope that we are able to hang on to the time consuming effortful tasks that make life special.

Facebook

danielbernards — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:49:12 +0000

I started a Facebook profile after high school because at the time Facebook was a way to connect with other college students. I was against MySpace because I did not see the point in creating a profile as a way to express oneself. I enjoyed Facebook, but would not have created the profile if I was not heading to college. By now I would have a profile, mainly because everyone has a profile now and I would not want to deny the form of communication.
I try to project my personality as accurately as possible. I have every information section filled in. The sections include my relationship status, interests, music choices, and quotes. My “about me” section is left anonymous because I cannot constrain my identity to a couple sentences, and did not want to make that section as long as a novel. I do not write status updates, I hardly write on people’s walls, and rarely use Facebook to interact. Relationships are extremely important to me, as they are with most people, and I don’t understand people who advertise their friendships with constant wall posts. Because of my inability to relate to the public wall posts I keep my conversations with my friends anonymous as far as Facebook is concerned.
My favorite aspect of Facebook is the site’s ability to collect media. Using Facebook as a public library for pictures and videos is great for sharing memories and reflecting life’s experiences. I do not hesitate to reveal or allow the revealing of who I am through media. Many pictures have been tagged of me that are embarrassing or less than flattering, but they are memories and a part of my life that I want to be able to look back on. For this reason I feel I show a pretty true identity of who I am in the media portion of Facebook.
I have used some form of pseudonymity with Facebook. The book explains how pseudonymity allows for the fashioning of one’s image. My profile picture is normally a picture that looks better than I actually look. I do not give myself a fake name, but rather I choose a more attractive image in order to be perceived more positively. Although some may say this is my true identity, my picture was definitely chosen in order for me to be perceived in an enhanced manner.
Profile pictures are the norm for Facebook and MySpace users, so anonymity is more difficult with these mediums. If pictures were not socially required on these sites then I feel people would capitalize on their anonymity by creeping on other people, saying hurtful things, and with the use of fake names. Online Communication stresses our society’s value for privacy. Facebook already exposed users’ information that was thought to be anonymous and private with the creation of Beacon. Facebook’s Beacon advertised users’ purchase decisions on the site’s mini-feed. The information we put on our profiles are provided for friends to see in most cases. As society we use Facebook as a form of self-presentation. Facebook and MySpace help us project our desired identity.

So Much Cooler Online

danielbernards — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:54:24 +0000

I watched Brad Paisley’s Online music video, a song making fun of some people’s online personas. Jason Alexander is the nerd in the video, a man who looks to be in his forty’s. He works as a pizza delivery man by day and online geek by night. He lives with his parents and in his glory days was in the band. He has glasses, pretends he is in Star Wars, and epitomizes the essence of being a nerd. Offline Jason Alexander is living a fairly undesirable life. Online is a different story.
Online he is single (in the independent, the girls are lucky I am not locked down kind of single), rich, and handsome. In Paisley’s words he is six foot five, and looks damn good. He is a playboy who gets all the girls, and in fact three-way chats because one girl isn’t enough. Alexander’s online identity is much more desirable than his offline self.
The conclusions I get from the music video is that Alexander has a void that needs to be filled. He wants to know what it feels like to be considered cool, to get attention, and feel wanted and popular. The void of popularity is shown by his explanation that he was in GQ. The longing to feel different, to feel improved, explains why he creates this fantasy world. Even his dad longs to fill a void. His online void filler involves being friends with attractive women. He is married to an old woman, and the acceptance he receives from being friends with young beautiful women fills the void of what his partner is lacking.
Society may sometimes use the internet as a way to let their creativity run wild, and feel emotions unobtainable in real life. We can use the internet to get things out of life that we otherwise couldn’t. Alexander being a dork shows the enormous dependence on the internet, because numerous voids are apparent. I hope that we can continue to see videos like these and look at them as humorous, for it would be sad to see our alter-egos grow as the internet does.
Wood and Smith talk about interactivity being a characteristic of online communication. We can communicate very easily, and because of this among other reasons the internet is obviously incredibly prominent in society. We can interact through synchronicity, communicating instantaneously. The ease of communication is fantastic, but I fear that the lack of face to face interaction could allow these dream worlds to continue. Our identities online are not who we are. I see the identities some create match that of a kid pretending to be superman. We should continue to interact as similarly as we do in real life. Creativity is great, but we aren’t superman. In using the internet we must try to stay as true to ourselves as possible, or we may lose some of the aspects that define ourselves. The interactivity with the internet is fascinatingly easy, and I hope that the ease continues to be a good thing.

Abstinence

danielbernards — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 04:54:15 +0000

I have just realized what a sad person I am. I am pretty pissed off right now, because I feel like the internet owns me. I didn’t think that going without the internet was going to be a big deal, but it turned out to be a pain in the butt. I had to almost schedule the 24 hour period I was going to be away from the internet. Certain variables made staying off the internet fairly difficult.
First of all I am taking two online classes (this class and WR 222) so I had to plan my homework according to my offline day. Second of all I am constantly checking espn.com, and more specifically a game called “Streak for Cash”. The “Streak for Cash” game involves picking certain matchups every day, predicting who one thinks is going to win. The first person to pick 27 games in a row wins a million dollars. The game is free to play and I’ve gotten into the habit of picking at least one game each day. Breaking that habit was the most difficult. Thirdly I needed to meet with my group Sunday for one of my classes, and our means for communication is through email. Last and least was breaking the Facebook habit. I am not a huge fan but I still check it about every day.
My ability to communicate was greatly affected during the period of abstinence. Normally the internet would not be a huge factor for communication, but due to my group commitment and our use of email my abstinence had to be planned ahead of time. It was annoying not being able to get on espn.com, but I was still able to get my sports information from watching television. Getting away from Facebook was great, and I think I know why. Facebook has become part of the day, like brushing my teeth or setting my alarm for the morning. I don’t necessarily like doing any of these things, but I do them anyways. Skipping Facebook was like taking a chore off my to-do list.
I personally liked life better without diminished forms of communication like Facebook and text messaging. I enjoy more commitment in conversation. Talking with people face to face and even on the phone provides more of a connection between people. Qualities of people are faded out with typed speech. My ability quantitatively to communicate was weakened, but my quality of communication was improved. A good portion of the time I am on the internet I would classify as boredom filling time. For the 24 hours I was abstinent I was bored a couple times. I watched movies and hung out with friends to fill the boredom gap.
The fact that our assignment was to take ourselves away from the internet shows us how intense our relationship might be with computers. I feel as though society is becoming dependent on the internet, and the reality is that computers have drastically changed the way the majority of Americans live. Postman explains that with technology come winners and losers. I find it difficult to categorize certain people as winners and losers, but I think that our society as a whole is a combination of both. We can communicate more easily, but has that made our interactions less significant? We can find about any piece of information we want in seconds, but are we any smarter? We love the internet, but could we become addicted? Or even worse could the addiction be so standard that we as society treat the addiction as a normal and acceptable attribute?
Abstinence from the internet was a great experiment. We are dependent on the internet whether we like it or not. I have learned through this process that one must limit their dependence, and continue to value other forms of communication. As a society I hope that we value the internet as a form of communication, along with all others.