Blog #6

After listening to all the lectures from class and reading over the articles provided, I believe Henry Jenkins is saying convergence culture is a consumer's primary understanding and connection with of all the media sources that is now available to users. Jenkins believes that users are now much more involved because they now have a voice and the freedom to express their opinions which was not possible before. The information that users retrieve from the internet allows them to be more familiar with things such as brands and products which is making everyone much more "connected". Convergence culture has allowed us the ability to step into a new age of information because of the emergence of all the new media sources which is foundation of a convergence culture. Creative management is the process in which the users from the convergence culture expand upon ideas and thoughts that have already been established in an attempt to create broader views and ideas. Creative engagement is so important because it allows users the opportunities to see idea's and possibilities that otherwise they never would have been exposed to. The media plays the biggest role in creative engagement because we are able to take away information from other people as well as sharing our own innovative minds. And finally, the big question is how are participators engaging? In my personal opinion, participators are engaging by being much more involved on the internet. Whether that consists of having a Twitter account, having our own personal blog, or simply just posting things online for class assignments. The power to engage lies totally with every individual, and depending on how much the user cares to be engaged determines just how engaging they will actually be. But regardless of the level of engagement, all user of the internet are engaging in some shape or form. Thanks for reading and I would love to read your opinions and thoughts!

Preventing Piracy

Over time this issue of piracy and file sharing have grown into major problems. If we're being honest, then I think it's safe to say that everyone has taken part in illegal downloading in some shape or form. The main cause for this is because we as users have to the power to find the information on the internet. The average user does not take the time to think about the problems they could be causing such as profit loss and viruses. Although I do not believe there's a way to totally eliminate illegal downloading I do believe there are some things that can be done to minimize the amount of piracy/file sharing. The first action that I think needs to be taken in order to minimize the amount of piracy is making the punishments more strict. In most cases, the worst offense that anyone receives for this action is a warning and honestly that's nothing more than a slap on the risk. There has to be a type of punishment implemented such as a fine that makes users think twice about what they're doing. Another obvious and easy solution to the problem would be to lower the prices of the music. I would say the average price of a song on iTunes now is around a $1.25. Most people have well over a hundred songs on their iPod so if you do the math that adds up to a significant amount of money really quick. If prices are lowered and users don't feel that they are being taken advantage of then the motivation to buy songs and albums will increase and issue of piracy will reduce. And finally, I believe that the government needs to be more active in implementing a stronger internet surveillance. It's impossible to believe that they will catch everyone who partakes in illegal downloading or file sharing, but it is realistic to say that this will scare people from trying it. In order for users to seriously think twice about illegally downloading they have to know there will be serious repercussions for their actions. Please let me know what you think of my suggestions!

Privacy and Enhanced Personalization

Alfred Kobsa's article "Privacy and Enhanced Personalization" brings up a very interesting and controversial topic. The main point of the article discusses how users love having the freedom to explore the internet and have that level of personalization that we all strive for. However, the problem users are facing is the amount of private/confidential information they are being asked to compromise in order to have the personal web experience that they want. Although this is a major concern for everyone who is in involved on the internet, the level of concern about privacy has been categorized into three different categories: Privacy Fundamentalists, Privacy Unconcerned, and Privacy Pragmatists. Privacy Fundamentalists generally express extreme concern about any use of their data and unwillingness to disclose information, even when privacy protection mechansims would be in place. The Privacy Unconcerned tend to express mild concern for privacy, and mild anxiety about how other people and organizations use information about them. And finally the Privacy Pragmatists are generally concerned about their privacy as well, but less than the fundamentalists. The article actually stated that the majority of people would actually fall under the category of Privacy Pragmatists. Considering how popular the web is and how many tasks such as shopping and paying bills are now done online I guess it shouldn't be surprising that the majority of people are not unbelievably concerned with the issue. I'm very hesitant when it come to giving out personal information, so I would definitely consider myself to be a Privacy Fundamentalists. Another key element that stuck out to me from the article was that people's trust in a Web site plays a crucial roll in the decision of disclosing their personal information. This is something that's so simple, yet so important. Just like anything else in this world, if you don't trust what you're doing then it's probably not a good decision. I consider myself to be very involved person online but yet I'm very disturbed by the information Web companies seem to consistently be asking me to provide. So I guess the question that I would like to ask is "How are we as users supposed to distinguish between what information is okay to give out, and the information we should refuse to give up"? I don't feel that we as users should be pressured into giving up our privacy in order to have our desired personalization. Let me know what you think!

New Media and Technology

The article that I chose to write about is called "Technological World Taking Over Our Society". I was very intrigued by this article because it specifically talks about how technology and more specifically social media sites have had an impact on people's attitudes and ways of thinking. This article directly relates to internet communication because it seems that online interaction and the creation of new media siteshave quickly become the primary way our society has adapted to sharing news and information. Social media sites have allowed us the ability to access everyone's information by simply looking on our computers or mobile devices. One of the main arguments of the article is that the convenience of looking at someone's online profile has caused us to become lazy in our relationships. And because of this we have failed to remember what it's like to truly care for someone. It's much easier to check one's Facebook status rather than have a face-to-face conversation with them to see how they're really doing on a personal level. Another interesting topic I found in this article is that social media is used solely for the purpose of gaining attention. Whether it's good or bad attention people find satisfaction in knowing that others see what's going on in their life. The most common thing people tend to do is share all their big news so they can be praised and congratulated for their accomplishments. On the other side however, their are those who like to share their depressing information so they can make sure they receive some sympathy and words of encouragement. I recommend that anyone who spends any amount of time online to read this article. Technology is a great and powerful tool that can be very effective unless we abuse it. A lot of us can't imagine life without getting on our Facebook or Twitter accounts. While I by no means think that we should give up technology or our social media sites, I believe we would be best served to learn to use them in moderation. http://thesouthernnews.org/2011/10/26/technological-world-taking-over-our-society/

Network Laws

After reviewing all of the network laws I would say that I agree most with Reed's Law. Reed's Law claims that the utility of a network that "n" members increases exponentially, or 2^n (2 to the nth power). This Law explains the power of social networks and the various groups that form because of network affiliations. In other words, the more connections you make the more likely you are to be successful. In today's society, social networks and media sites rely on their viewers to gain popularity and power. Without ratings and viewers they have no power, and therefore no way to stay competitive with their competition. The more people that a social network can get to be involved and join as members or users, the more connections they are more likely to make. If a network doesn't have many viewers/users to share their information with then that limits their ability to make connections and relay important information. The reason making connections and striving to grow and expand is so crucial is because this is the most effective way a network advertises themselves. This is the the most sufficient way that advertisers reach out to different businesses and people. Advertising through social media offers the quickest way to reach out to a large number of people as well as doing it in a cost efficient way. If networks don't use their platforms to market themselves and advertise then ultimately it's just a wasted resource. Over time the ways in which people find their information has changed drastically. With the way that technology keeps emerging with advancements it's hard to say that traditional media such as newspapers and articles will ever be the prime source of gathering important information again. Five years from now we'll look at today's top technological products as outdated and probably rarely used. If I could use one world to describe what I feel the future holds for social networks and media it would be "growth". Technology has taken media and society to a whole new level. Before it's all said and done I believe everything will move to electronic and ultimately push society to have a "paperless" philosophy. I believe changes are coming and I think it's coming very soon.

Why We Blog?

"Why We Blog" is an article based off an in depth research study that goes through the different rationalizations that people have for blogging. After going through a total of twenty-three interviews and multiple hours of research, there we five major motivations found that influence how we connect with the rest of the world. The major five were: documenting one's life; providing commentary and opinions; expressing deeply felt emotions; articulating idea's through writing; and forming and maintaining community forums. The main purpose for the first motivation "Documenting One's Life" is to keep friends and family involved in what we're doing in our daily activities. This is very popular because this can be done in the form of a daily journal, posting pictures, simple daily updates, etc. In my opinion this is great because we as the blogger have the ultimate power in what we post and what we allow viewer's to know about what's going on with us. The next motivation talked about was "Blogs as Commentary" where blogger's express their views and opinions on relevant issues. This allows not only the viewer, but also the blogger the opportunity to share thoughts and become more familiar on a broad range of issues and topics. This serve's as a unique way for the blogger's thoughts and idea's to be shared and taken seriously. The third motivation found in the study was "Blogs as Catharsis". This is a more personal style of blog that give's blogger's the ability to express their feelings and vent out about some of the stress and problems they deal with. This is an effective method of blogging because this allows the blogger the chance to connect with reader's who can relate to what they're talking about. The fourth motivation identified was "Blog as Muse". This a form of blogging that's purpose is to let blogger's express their interpretations and judgments in form that is solely writing. This gives the blogger the opportunity to become a more analytical thinker and practice good writing habits. And last but not least the fifth major motivation was "Blog as Community Form". Blogging in this way is used for posting on a particular subject or topic and then relying on comments and feedback. This creates a dialogue between the viewers and the blogger and allows for feedback as well as a mutual exchange of knowledge.

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