Ah! Now I Get It :) October 3, 2007

Well that was interesting. I must say, reading the three required articles for class was somewhat confusing because all of the computer language was not making sense to me (then again I am not too computer literate haha). However, the Social Networking and Social Bookmarking videos were a lot clearer in what I was supposed to do in order to register for a social networking or a social bookmarking site. Clearly, I am more of a visual learner, and I prefer being shown exactly what I am to do so I am not fussing through pages trying to find directions. I found these very informative, and after watching my confusion of the assignment disappeared. I decided to register for del.icio.us because, lets be honest, the name is much cooler than diigo and the video was easier for me to understand. After watching, I was successful in creating tags and categories for all of my blogs up until this point. I am still unsure of how to do some things on here, but I am learning and I am sure I will find the answers I am looking for eventually. Things I am currently wondering…

…can someone please tell me how to post a link?

-and-

…how do you add a picture?

Perhaps we were already told how to do this, but if so, it has already slipped my mind. If anyone has a minute to give me some explanation it would be greatly appreciated J Then, hopefully I can make my blogs better by adding links to the articles I talk about.

                                                                                            -Amanda

The “Collective Unconscious of Mankind” October 2, 2007

The chat log that was most interesting to me was the Reality and Identity Group 3. They brought up a lot of points in their conversation that were very intriguing and worth mentioning. One of the statements that really grabbed me was Be Smith’s reference to the internet as the “collective unconscious of mankind”. This could not be more true. From my own interpretation, he is basically saying that when we post things online we do it almost unconsciously, without a thought or care that other people may be reading them. We use the internet (mostly blogging) as a digital diary where we can let our opinions, beliefs, fears, and even deepest secrets seep into another world; a dangerous world where everything is at stake, up front, and ultimately, permanent. This is similar to papers we hand in to professors expressing our beliefs on a particular topic. However, it is very very different in the sense that only the professors will be reading that paper, whereas online their will be more people perusing through our thoughts.

The group goes on to discuss how people tend to share things on the internet that they wouldn’t usually say. They feel safer because they aren’t in direct contact with the people they are communicating with. With the internet, we are communicating with the whole world; anyone and everyone. That, to us, sounds OK because “everyone” is doing it and that is where the “collective” part of Be Smith’s comment fits in. The internet is basically everyone’s diary. So, having said this, when we look at things like authorship a question arises of who is the true author. In some sense, we are all authors, publishing stories that are stocked in a global, digital library where not even a library card needs to be swiped or a dime needs to be spent in order to review someone else’s work. Ultimately, considering the openness off the internet, it is important that we become more conscious of what we are posting on certain cites, considering it is impossible for it to be completely erased. It isn’t like a written diary where you can write your entry, lock it with a key, and keep that key safe; in reality, the diaries we contribute to on the internet are forever and indefinitely open.      -Amanda

                                                                                          

Class Overview September 28, 2007

Class this morning was a really neat experience. When first hearing that we would be chatting on the computer instead of having a class discussion, I was wondering what the point of that was. Automatically, I came to the realization that having a discussion in a chatroom with other classmates opened up a world of possibility. Instead of having to raise your hand to share your thoughts, everyone could be talking at the same time. Also, it allowed us to withhold our identities and create a different name, so other people wouldn’t know who exactly they were talking to. Not only this, but the class went by so much faster!

            My group focused our conversation on authorship. What is that exactly? I would come to the conclusion that it is the writing one produces and claims ownership to. On terms of authorship on the internet, that is a bit of a different story. With so many people blogging anonymously these days, sometimes it is hard to tell who a true author is. If people blog anonymously they are risking the chance of someone else stealing their work and claiming it as their own. With the digital world producing so many possibilities, it is hard to come up with a clear cut definition of what authorship really is. What does authorship mean to you?

                                                                                                -Amanda