Chapters 44-46

Blogs, previously called weblogs, are way more popular than I would have thought.  It is said that approximately 18 million American adults keep a blog.  When I decided recently that I want to be involved in fashion public relations and started researching about the topic, I began to notice how many people have blogs about not only fashion, but millions of other topics.  Logan describes how blogs are broken down into smaller communities of interest, which is something I noticed right off the bat.  Logan also says that blogs are meant for alternative news sources, although I have never considered looking at a blog for important news stories.  If I were to go into the journalist business, reading this section in chapter 44 has taught me that blogs are an extremely important way to publish stories that are originally not allowed in that country.  Blogs of this sort are more important for military and government personell.  I really enjoyed the quick section of the “Blook” that Logan described in section 44.5.  He put his book on a Website so that friends and whoever wanted to give their opinions could do so, calling it a blook.

            Chapter 46 on Search Engines proved to be extremely interesting.  It is inevitable that most of the people in the world have used, or at least heard of Google.  It has the largest market share of online advertising revenue, standing at 63.5% in 2009.  Google is scored based on several things—frequency and the amount of document change, how often the documented is chosen when it appears in a search list, freshness of the site and its links, how much time visitors spend on the site, and many others.  It is interesting to note that there are many different types of Google internationally, including Googke UK, Google Canada, Google Adsense, Google Germany, Google Spain to name a few.  Like we mentioned in class, Google is not only a search engine.  Some of Google’s other features include Google Mail (gmail), Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Images, Google Blogger (obviously), Google Documents, and MANY more.  An important sentence that Logan mentioned was that “the more traffic it can generate, the more advertising dollars it can earn (advertising revenue brings up percentage).  I do not think I have gone a day without saying, “Just Google it” or “Googling” something if I do not know the answer to something or want to find something out.  It is interesting how Google does not want its name in the dictionary because they do not want it to have different meanings, but like Logan mentioned, it is inevitable that people will do what they want.  One of my favorite Google apps that I read in this chapter was Google Cooking, where you write down all the ingredients that you have in your home and within seconds, hundreds of recipes with those ingredients pop up.  The only part of this chapter that I did not agree was that Google is the seventh language, after speech, writing, math, science, computing, and the Internet.  Although Logan mentions that this is outrageous, I cannot picture this actually becoming something that is taught in schools.

            The last part of the assignment is on Chapter 46, which includes video conferencing and Web-based Collaboration tools.  Video conferencing has become extremely popular throughout the years and it is something I have seen with my own eyes.  “Video conferencing can contribute to collaboration among individuals by overcoming the barrier of distance.”  This chapter also talks about Wiki, a website in which the pages can be changed by anyone with an Internet access.  The only website that pops into mind when reading about this is Wikipedia, a website I go to when finding basic research about a topic, but never a source that is completely reliable.

"Cut, Copy, and Paste"

Reading the article "Cut, Copy, and Paste" by Professor Strate has opened my eyes to a whole new world.  I have never thought of these three commands in the way that Professor Strate has and probably never would have.  The comparison to cut, copy, and paste to a time as far as three million years ago was absurd to me at first.  But after reading the way Professor Strate connected these terms, I cannot help but think that everything we do in our every day lives can be related that far back.  But my favorite part of the article was on page 55 when Professor Strate related all of his opinions to Mark Twain's observance that "when you have a hammer in your hand, everything around you starts to look like a nail.  Just as the early hominids (Homo ergaster, Homo erectus, Homo habilis, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens) had a sense of literal cut, copy, and paste with materialistic objects, everything around us seems to look like something to cut, pierce, or carve (pg 55).  The relationship between the prehistoric tools and how they have developed throughout the years, starting with cut then copy then paste in that specific order, made me wonder how many other technologies and commands we use today that can be related back to the prehistoric era.

Internet Innovation and Material Infrastructure

One of the interesting aspects of yesterday's of yesterday's class was the discussion on the growth of the internet and its capabilities. Originally only the share of small data files and some primitive discussion boards were available due to a lack of processing power and the small size of the network. The Internet Boom Era of the mid 90's to the early 2000's was contingent on not only the expansion of landline or cable based networks, but the proliferation of affordable modems.

Even this technology had it's limits and these limits can be expressed in the 'Dot Com Crash' itself. The rapid expansion of web content quickly revealed that a nation mostly equipped with 56k modems can only be so much content, even loading a website with a large amount of .tiff or .jpeg pictures took a long time. The resurgence of the Internet several years later, with the popularity of Social Media and many other new web services, would have been impossible without the proliferation of broadband-speed Internet connections.

So how does this process of web development following infrastructural development look to progress in the future? Well, in class we discussed Googles long term plan of evolving Chrome from just a browser to an Operating System in and of itself, so that booting one's computing and going on the Internet will be inseparable. The only way this project could see the success Google hopes for is for massive telecommunications infrastructure improvement, namely in the area of wireless access.

The Internet, Web, and Social media

Through out the beginning of the personal computer or the PC the leader of the industry was IBM. IBM is a company that is very regimented. They had all employees dress in Navy Blue pinstripe suits and encouraged their employees to communicate with each other as much as possible. This company decided to stay away from the software and manufacturing of PC's and decided to focus on teh hardware as they had always done. Apple, a competitor of IBM, had created a new image with the help of Steve Jobs. They created an image that was new and hip and attracted a very artistic and creative crowd. Apple had gone down hill when Jobs left the company, but when he came back with the invention of the iPod Apple once again flourished. In chapters 8 and 9 of "Communication and Cyberspace" individuals go on to describe the internet, which they call an information superhighway. William Gibson went on to coin the term cyberspace, which he describes as a consensual hallucination. His vision of the internet and cyberspace was that it is a transnational capitalism run amok. An obstacle in this era was Interface Message Processors or IMP's. IMP gives computers the ability to talk to each other if they were produced by the same manufacturer. The internet or computer network has been created from the beginning by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as a part of their defense strategy. Their thought was to create a decentralized network so that if one part of the network was attacked or went down the other parts would fill in and there would be no loss of connection. These networks consist of many components such as terminals and nodes. Terminals are not endpoints which are not connected to each other, but to a main frame. Nodes are interconnected within the network. In 1969 ARPAnet was commissioned by the department of defense and the key to this system was packet switching. Packet switching is where several packets are sent to one destination, the nodes reroute in accordance with how easy it is to reach its end point, and they come back together at their destination. Mosco has many views about the electronic age, but one that stood out to me was that in an electric age information has been increasingly modified. Another idea that intrigued me was the thought that cyberspace has no limits and or no barriers and will expand as information increases. With discoveries like prodigy, America online and the WEB our society has become greatly entwined in the internet and all that it has to offer. Within the text we have been reading they speak of a "digital divide, which is the gap between those who have access to and use the internet and those who do not(166)". This idea enlightens you on how the world has increasingly progressed through the years. Thoughts from the text and thoughts of my own hope that this gap is lessened each and every passing day

Understanding New Media: Chapters 8-15

One of the most notable things about this book is it's structure. Each chapter is introduced with a description of the chapter topic's "Content and Extension, Cascade, and Laws of Media". This background information provided at the beginning of each chapter contributes to our enhanced understanding of New Media. A unique feature of this book is its emphasis on how different elements of communication are interrelated and some how converge into the realm of new media. Chapters 8-14 involve the spoken word, the written word, roads and paper routes, numbers, clothing, housing, and money. In Chapter 8, a concern was brought up about the possibility that New Media would make English a dominating language and cause the depletion of other spoken languages. However, the author counters this concern by stating that although New Media will increase the use of English, it will not eliminate other languages. The New Media in fact contributes to the expansion of abstract terminology used in spoken language. Furthermore, programs have been created so that more websites will be available in a variety of different languages. Another matter was brought up in Chapter 9 that entailed the New Media's effect on the written word. Although most would expect that New Media would bring about the deterioration of written word, it actually encourages it. New Media constantly involves written word through activities such as e-mailing, texting, and blogging. Another interesting topic in this reading is Chapter 11 concerning numbers. The use of 1s and 0s has created a digital revolution that form the foundations  of computers. Digitization involves "the use of numbers in binary form in which any number can be expressed in terms of ones and zeros (111)". This technological advancement gave rise to the codes used for audio and video information that is present in the New Media technologies of today.

Confusions in The Giese Article

In his essay From ARPANET to Internet Mark Giese brings up an important topic about the Internet that gets taken for granted these days. Namely that the Internet has a long, interesting history and did not just shoot forth into existence arbitrarily, as some people probably assume. While it did well at explaining this topic, I found some confusions and contradictions in his discussion on the dichotomy of Internet ‘culture.’

His main point is that the history of Internet culture and development is defined by two contradictory, but interrelated sides, that of the hierarchal rigid military sphere, and the more egalitarian ‘hacker’ academic sphere. The problem is that he provides very little evidence of the military actively conflicting with the academics. The military, in his description, seems to take a very laissez-faire approach to how the academics and hackers used their equipment. As long as ARPANET and it’s successor kept performing it’s originally intended defense function, then the military had little reason to interfere with the academics and hackers discussion groups and experiments. The problems of the early Internet Giese describes don’t seem to be a product of military blockheadedness, but the growing pains of new technology.

In fact, the relationship between the military and academic cultures seems to not be one of confrontation and contradiction, but of mutual benefit, forming a sort of feedback loop. If it were not for ‘hackers’, such as Bill Gates, then there wouldn’t be the Microsoft systems upon which the military is completely dependent. The latest pieces of military technology, such as the Predator drone, would not be possible without the innovations brought about by the military’s attitude towards the academic community. Modern net and ‘hacker’ culture flourished because of military hierarchy and control, not in spite of it.

History of the Computer

Today we learned about the computer and it's lengthly history. The original ancestor of the computer is the abacus. We also learned that the loom, a machine that automatically creates textiles, is where one of the first forms of programming was created.  In the 19th century George Boole was one of the first to give numerical values to numbers and to operations like multiplication and division. Charles Babbage originated the concept of computers for number crunching and calculations, but no one had the sophistication to create the machine at that time. We also learned that Douglas Engelbart was the creator of the mouse and was a critical developer of hypertext. There are many things that one doesn't think about when pondering about a computer such as the interface, architecture, hardware, software, operating and system languages which are vital to a computers functions. We than went on to learn of artificial intelligence and hackers. One of the most interesting things was that hackers were not always looked down upon. Hackers strived to create programs to be free for every individual to share. Last;ly the most concentrated research and development of computers in recent decades has been in Silicon Valley, California. We have learned a significant amount about the computer and hope to learn much more so that I can have a well rounded opinion about how the most important instrument used today came about and what obstacles it faced in that process.

Chapters 34-43

     I must say that I was very excited when my book Understanding New Media by Robert K Logan came in the mail.  Although there is much to catch up on (around 30 chapters), it has been pretty entertaining.  I have not yet finished catching up, but I skipped to chapters 34-43 for this blog.
     Everything I have read in these chapters has been extremely insightful to think about.  Chapter 43 started with convergent technologies, giving a list of some examples of hybrid technologies.  Ones that were obvious that we have talked about in class thus far include clocks (embedded in almost all "new media" devices), radio (the convergence of radio and the Web through Web radio or a satellite through satellite radio), and television (the convergence of television and computing with DVR's and television and the cell phone with mobisodes).
     Chapter 35 was interesting to read about because it discussed the malfunction printer, photocopier, scanner, and fax... all in one.  This type of new media shows how technology has become so advance throughout so many years.
     Of course chapter 36 was interesting to read about because it was all about how cell phones have boomed since they were first invented.  It is interesting to note that 3.3 billion people worldwide use cell phones today.  It was fun reading about the Iphone and its definition dated back in 2007 as well because I own one myself.  The one sentence that stuck out at me was on page 220 when Logan states that a cell phone is a telephone, "but it is also a text messaging receiver and sender, a still camera, a video camera, it displays still shots and video, it's a radio, a TV, a juke box, a message center, a video game player, a destination finder, a bank for credit card holders, an Internet terminal, a hand-held computer with a hard drive, and a collaboration too."  I am aware that my phone is capable of doing all of these things and it is hard to believe that people did not have this type of technology before I was born in the beginning of the 1990's.  Cell phones have made life easier who are always on the go, but as Logan describes, it can also cause problems.  For example, "at diner at a fine restaurant is the invasion of privacy when one is forced to participate in the phone conversation of a rude individual at another table who speaks at a high decibel level, destroying the intimacy of the dining experience."  This chapter also talked about the social impact of the camera cell phone.  I used to own a "real" camera when camera cell phones did not come out yet, but with an Iphone, nowadays, it is not necessary to own a camera at all.  Iphone cameras in particular have great quality.  Like Logan describes in this chapter, it is extremely easy to snap a photo in any situation, whether it be for entertainment, journalism, or for a crime scene.
     Reading about the personal computer in chapter 37 and learning about it in class was riveting.  Looking at pictures in class of the first computer was shocking.  It was so larger I would have no idea how to work it if it was in front of me.  The first sentence that made my smile in this chapter was the first page of the chapter when Ken Olsen in 1977 said, "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."  He was so wrong.  At first computers were meant for the defense department of the government and universities teaching statistics for the use of mathematics, scientific data, and print.  Oh, how times have changed.  In recent years, the microcomputer has come into view with new computer software as well.  I loved the fact that a woman names Ada Lovelace invented the first computer programs.
     PDA's are personal digital assistants used for more of a business-oriented person, as described in chapter 38.  They now have a miniature keyboard and mouse, with a scroll device instead of arrows.  Palm pilots are an example of this, which I believe have fallen off in more recent years.  I love technology and I do not ever remember asking my mother for a palm polite.  I feel like cell phones can do this just as well.  A cool invention was the pen computing, where a the computers userface is a pen or stylus.
     The Internet in chapter 40 was a huge chapter in this assignment.  There is so much to say about the Internet.  For one, I do not think I could live without it.  It is so helpful and I use it so many more times than I can remember in one day.  Like Logan says, "it is an integral part of modern life."  The Internet can do so many things that people are not even aware of.  One important aspect is that it shares information both synchronous and asynchronous in formats such as text, graphics, video, and audio.  The Internet was first used for the military as back up incase communications failed due to nuclear attacks by the Russians.  It was amusing to me how there can be electronic crime and punishment on the Internet, as no one can take advantage of this medium.  When someone violates the rules and protocols of Internet usage, a warning is first issued.  But if this continues, that person would be banned from participation or removed from a group.  This is essential to keep groups functioning and fair.  With the Internet, information can be made instantaneously.  For example, the most common things that I google end up becoming ads on my Facebook and Twitter, two websites that I am on everyday, trying to make me aware of their products and what they have to offer.
     Chapter 41 has to do with the Internet, but with different forms of communication.  Insant Messaging is something that I no longer rely on or use nowadays, but email and SMS (short message service) is something that I use daily.  Back in the day, all three of these would be considered one-to-one communication, but as it continues to grow, it can be considered one-to-many, many-to-many, or even many-to-one.  People in my generation are huge on SMS messaging on their cell phones.  If someone wants to ask a quick question but does not feel like talking on the phone, SMS can be an alternative way to communicate by typing the question to that person.  Email and Gmail are very popular within the last 15 years and will continue to be popular for many more years to come.
     The World Wide Web discussed in chapter 43 is also one of the most important chapters in this assignment.  The World Wide Web are websites such as Google that give instantaneous information to anyone who is available to it.  The "WWW" was formed only after the Internet.  It creates an information environment which the world has never seen.  One negative of the WWW is that there is much misinformation and disinformation that can fool millions.  This is where many rumors start about celebrities, for example, that Justin Beiber was trampled to death by his fans.  The WWW is where social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Friendster, and many others started.  The World Wide Web shapes the lives of many people today.

Digital Versus Analogical

During Wednesdays lecture Professor Strate discussed the important differences of digital and analogical in reference to new media. A digital system is comprised of discrete units, which bare no resemblance to what they represent. They have a few unique features which consist of being more compact, takes up significantly less storage space, frees up bandwidth, can be easily copied and shared so no data is degenerated, and it is very easy to edit. Everyday examples of digital systems are fingers, numbers, an alphabet composed of letters, words, and language. As you can see digital systems have been a concrete foundation in our society for many decades. Analogical, which is the opposite of digital, means a system that is not logical. Analogical systems consist of continuous units, which have some similarity to what they are representing. An example of an analogical system is a picture. The measurement of an analogical system is always an approximation. Throughout recent decades we have seen many forms of progression. With progression has brought the age of digital systems and its impact on analogical systems. Digital has been and will eventually drive out analogical systems. It was very interesting to watch and understand the videos that were played of and about Marshal McLuahns' life. These videos gave insight on what his views really were and what kind of impact he had and still has on society. I look forward to learning more about him through out this course.

Digital vs Analogical

During Wednesday's class, we focused primarily on a comparison between digital and analogical. A digital system is composed of discrete units- namely letters (the alphabet), numbers ands words (language). "In between" values do not exist in digital. On the other hand, we learn that analogical is constituted of continuous units whose values change over time. In terms of measurement, analogical systems have values that are never exactly the same and can infinite values in a range; thus, taking up more room. Conversely, digital is all about counting and acquiring a precise value. Digital is more compact which is why it is incorporated in the many new media technologies, i.e. digitalizing voice in the telephone system and computers. Digitalization has revolutionized the way we see and do things. For example, in class we discussed the impact of digital on copying. When reproducing data, the content is retained and nothing is lost. It has also made it easier to edit things such as pictures and documents via the computer. With all the features and possibilities it has to offer, digitalization serves an imagination stimulant. Through technology that is fueled by digital systems, a whole new creative realm is unleashed.

Systems Theory & Chaos Theory

On Tuesday, the highlight of the class was the discussion of the Systems and Chaos Theories, which I found particularly interesting. While talking about the Systems Theory, Prof. Strate established a definition for a system - a whole composed of interdependent parts where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A system generally features three attributes: structure, interaction, and relationship. From interaction, we get emergence. When parts form a system and interaction takes place, new content emerges. In coherence, we discussed the notion of autopoiesis which means self-making, life makes life. Autopoiesis describes the interactive nature of the internet. Through online intercommunication, people create their own society, culture, and world. The other highlight of the class, the Chaos Theory, claims that out of order emerges chaos and out of chaos emerges order. This is true because one cannot exist without the other. In correlation, we talked about the butterfly effect which is essentially a feedback loop that intensifies over time. A small occurrence that is repeated over and over again can create a massive effect. Information was once described as being the opposite of entropy; however, these new theories and concepts have shifted information in the middle of chaos and order. In order for things such as information in New Media to evolve, we need chaos. We cannot have information if there is no uncertainty.

Cut, Copy, Paste and the Present

            The article Cut, Copy, Paste explores an aspect of our digital culture that is often overlooked; the aforementioned editing functions found in all audio, video, and word processing workstations. These editing functions are responsible for the ease that comes with creating within a digital environment, yet were mostly taken for granted until this article came around. The essay Cut, Copy, and Paste gives us the stepping-stones to examining how digital media is both positively and adversely effecting our postmodern present, and like all good scholarship, raises as many questions as it answers.

            The article argues that the basic editing tools are a continuation of the most basic tools used by primitive man to interact with his environment. Cut is a continuance of early hand axes or knives, Copy can be found in the earliest aspect of writing, with scribes, and Paste is an archetype of early methods of binding several materials together to make a tool. There are also parallels within our language, the concept of addition, subtraction, and multiplication are a different type of cut, copy, and paste.

            The article presents these digital tools as liberating, allowing a writer or artist to get into a creative flow and edit works with ease. These new capabilities are described as new ‘freedoms’, a description which is symptomatic of a more unsavory aspect of digital mass culture. This is the sort of freedom found in BMW commercials, subway posters for vacation packages to the Caribbean, and obnoxious YouTube ads for the experience of the freedom of club life as mediated through a new Swedish House Mafia single, a freedom through commodities, a freedom that can be bought, sold, and, used. Encountering this sort of attachment of concepts we would normally talk of in the realm of existence to objects (material/immaterial) is fairly common, but leads to absurdity if we were actually to think this way in everyday practical matters. For example, I bought a cast-iron skillet today, but as soon as I got home I didn’t say, “I am now endowed with the freedom to cook burgers without a grill, THANKS WILLIAMS AND SONOMA”, because that would be silly, I would be talking as if I were in a Williams and Sonoma ad.

            That said, the article illuminates not only a very important aspect of our digital-material world, but also how easy it is for us to take for granted such important tools in the very busy digital world. Some of the most salient and prophetic points come at the very end, in discussion of remedial apparatuses, digital politics, and the digitization of production. Remedial apparatuses are quite relevant these days, as the Media ‘Dons’ so to speak have recently spending millions in patents and lawsuits trying to catch up with technological forces that silently and quickly outstripped their ability to control. Youtube is quickly become America’s political background, and was utilized to a great degree in the 2008 victory of Barack Obama and the unexpected popularity of Republican maverick Ron Paul. The rise of Internet shopping, while convenient, has created an even wider gulf between consumer and producer, separated not only by international borders, but by removing much of the real-life overhead needed in such transactions (Just look at the current implosion of formerly successful Big Box chains such as Barnes & Nobles and Best Buy).

Digital vs. Analogical

Digital is composed of discrete units, which are arbitrary, while analogical is continuous.  I never thought of life in this way, but it surrounds the world every day.  It is important to note that everything is moving to greater digitization, but a good question professor Strate brought up is, "is this important?"  The clock face shows other potential times that exist when compared to a digital clock.  It is important to learn how to tell time on a clock face because knowing the other potential times, for me at least, helps me sort out my day easier.  For example, if I wanted to plan out my workout, homework, and beach time, it is easier to split my time by the numbers visually than it is to count on a digital clock how much time I should leave aside for each activity.  What was interesting in class was that counting is digital and measurement is analogical.  Measurement is always an approximation and counting is always precise.  My favorite part of class was when we talked about different mediums of music.  It first started with the records and when the magnetic tape came out, people like professor Strate were not happy because they had developed a passion for collecting records.  I was just born when some people still used magnetic tapes, but I never used them.  I do remember using CD's (which were made of discrete units), but I always thought it was unnecessary because I would put my music online and discard the CD rom.  Television was another medium we spoke about and I could not imagine not having a TV that was not digital.  DVD's also came up.  When I was younger, I had a great assortment of video cassettes that I still have in my basement, but those always took up too much room.  In todays society, DVD's are easy to store and better quality, in my opinion.  We also spoke about how analog requires space, similar to how I mentioned DVD's being easy to store.  I loved how professor Strate said that, "we live in a remix/mashup world."  On a side note, I think learning about the background of Marshall McLuhan was good for the class because I am eager to read his book that we are assigned to read in a few classes.

Digital and Analogical

The other night we discussed the difference between digital and analogical. Digital are discrete units such as words, numbers and letters that have no resemblance to anything.  In addition, digital allows editing to be much easier. It is also more compact and leaves more space available. The problems that come with digitalization, is that it allows for easier plagiarism. However, it is also positive because it allows new creativity. On the other hand, analogical means literally non-logical but, it is something continuous and has resemblance to other things such as time and pictures. Furthermore, analogical requires more space than digital things such as DVR. In addition we were introduced to Marshall McLuhan. He had some very interesting ideas such as the “medium is the message or massage.” It is like a massage because it works and shapes us over a period of time. Furthermore he is known as “the oracle of the electric age” since he predicted Internet or something like the works of Google. Another thing that was fascinating is that he believes the generation gap in neurological. This is because books are no longer “king” and the electronic use caused a direct affect in the nervous system, transforming human nature. He also believed that humanity could be intertwined for good or bad through electronics. I’m very interested to read more about him.

Order and Chaos

I found the Chaos Theory to be the most interesting thing in Tuesday night’s class. The chaos theory says that order emerges out of chaos. I found this interesting because when I think of order, the first things that come to mind are stability and instruction, not chaos. However without chaos, order would never be needed, therefore order must emerge from chaos. I also find it fascinating that this new set of ideas puts information in the middle between order and entropy. Another thing that was different about this class was the discussion of memes. Memes are like genes, self-replicators that reproduce themselves. In all this idea says that ideas can be self-replicated. This also links to the saying “going viral”, or in other words, multiple views spreading. Furthermore, Fractal Mathematics was also interesting. It allows for computer graphics to make something life like. This was shown with the Mandelbrot Set, which was the same pattern small and big on each level being repeated. This is the perfect example of order emerging from chaos. Lastly, we also discussed the Butterfly Effect. The Butterfly Effect creates a feedback loop in the atmosphere, which is needed for order.

Digital vs. Analogical - Class Lecture 6/7

We covered the difference between digital and analogical technologies in class on Wednesday. Digital refers to anything composed of discrete units (that are also arbitrary), such as numbers, letters, words, and more generally, language. Digital units are, essentially, zeros and ones. Analogical refers to anything composed of continuous units. As opposed to being arbitrary like digital units, analogical units must contain a resemblance or structural similarity to what they represent. Pictures are an example of analogical units. Digital, it seems, will win out over analogical for three reasons. First, it takes less space than analogical units. Second, digital products are easier to copy than their analogical counterparts. Last, it is easier to edit digital media than analogical media.

Class lecture 6/5 - Systems Theory, etc.

Tuesday's class lecture covered systems theory, the emergence of knowledge, chaos theory, and a few other topics. A system is generally defined as a whole composed of interdependent parts. The common phrase "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" exists because in addition to the parts themselves, the whole contains structure, interactions, and relationships between the parts. We also discussed the idea of emergence with regards to knowledge. People's knowledge in the information age has emerged from teaching themselves, as opposed to being taught. The same can be applied to governing - we govern ourselves. Additionally, we create ourselves by creating a boundary to keep out the environment.

We also discussed the butterfly effect, which I thought was the most interesting aspect of chaos theory. It suggests that the smallest actions can have huge influence on other seemingly random occurrences in the world, such as a butterfly flapping its wings in China causing a hurricane in the Caribbean.

History of Communication Part II, etc.

In Monday's class lecture, we finished the history of communication, from the invention of the telegraph in 1844 to the first use of the satellite in 1957. Other inventions that came later were the fax machine and data transmission. All of the technologies converged to create new media.

We also discussed the beginning of the information age, and Claude Shannon's information theory. Shannon maintained that energy, not matter, is the fundamental "stuff" of the universe. He ultimately defined information as "what is needed to reduce uncertainty." Information also reduces chaos and entropy and creates order. We also discussed sender/receiver/feedback loops, which creates a circuit. The negative feedback limits what information survives.

I thought it was interesting to learn that information is different from knowledge. I always thought they were the same thing, but they really go hand in hand, along with wisdom.

Response to Lecture: Information

During this lecture, the class commenced with a continuation of the history of communication. However, the lecture was mainly centered on the topic of information. Prof. Strate defined information as, "what is needed to reduce uncertainty." I think this definition possesses a somewhat philosophical nature. It made me question whether something can really be classified as information. According to the given definition, only new knowledge is truly considered as information. Furthermore, we discussed Claude Shannon and his Information Theory that involves the quantification of information. Entropy, the opposite of order and organization, is a way to measure information. It entails the randomness that exists, the different possibilities that can occur. Another interesting topic that was explained in class was the bit, a binary contraction of digits. They are basic units of information consisting of 1s and 0s that are used in computer data bases and kind of reminds me of The Matrix. In coherence to our discussion about Claude Shannon, we were also taught about his work, "The Mathematical Theory of Communication" where Shannon lays out the basic components of communication, which he considers the paradigm of communication with a scientific basis. Towards the conclusion of the class, Norbert Wiener is brought into discussion with talk about cybernetiks, the science of control. Wiener places great importance on the notion of the feedback loop. With the feedback loop, one can attain the key to control. The feedback loop also serves as the building blocks to the interactive technology that is present today.

Systems Theory, Chaos Theory, and More

There was a part of last class was a little more challenging for me to understand.  I do not have the book yet, but I am sure that when I read the chapters I will full understand.  But for now, I understood what Professor Strate meant by the definition of a system.  A system is a whole, composed of interdependent parts and how the whole is the sum on its parts.  I also understood emergence and what close and open systems were.  What I had trouble understanding was Benoit Mandelbrot's presentation on TED talks about fractals and the art of roughness.  It could have been because his accent was a little troubling to understand, but I was not able to fully keep track of what he was saying.  Other than that, many of the things we learned were insightful.  I never thought that science words such as virus were used for internet terms as well, "going viral."  I also enjoyed learning about the butterfly effect.  The analogy used was, "a butterfly flaps its wings in China and can cause a hurricane in the Caribbean."  This means that some information can intensify, causing a feedback loop and can have an enormous impact on people.  This butterfly effect has to do with the theory of complexity, which is closely related to the chaos theory.  I enjoyed the sink example when describing that out of chaos, comes order or vice versa.  At first when you turn on a sink, the water comes out in spurts and does not flow the way is should.  Only after a few seconds does the water finally become organized and comes out flowing the way it should.  It was also interesting that the definition of information first defined by Clause Shannon took a shift in emphasis, causing information to be in the middle of order and entropy.  The self replicating genes called memes was something I found valuable to know as well.  Memes describe the spreading of ideas.  Although Mendelbrot's presentation was found online and not in the textbook (that I know of), I look forward to researching more about his research.

The Chaotic Whole

Knowledge has taken upon several interpretations. In the 1960's Peter Drucker discussed how knowledge can be described as a commodity. Later on there were many discussions on systems and how they operate. Individuals came up with several related definitions such as closed systems, open systems, and the system theory. The system theory explains that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is because of several extra factors that aren't incorporated in the parts such as structure, interaction, and relationship. These outside factors from the parts make the whole that much more important and of greater importance. Many theories exclaim how order is the only way to obtain information, but with out a dab of chaos in any situation there would be no information available. Many views of this error lead to the enforcement of modern day atheism and the enlightenment of how christian faith may be faulted. Some intellectuals believe they have proved that life couldn't have been created without life itself, which is referred to as autopoiesis. As we progress through the course we have also come to the realization that many views conflict and with these views our evaluation of new media changes as well. Professor Strate has so far been able to direct us in the path of what is the best outlook on New Media with the information we have learned thus far, but we still have so much more to learn.

Consumption vs. Participation

Since our class focuses on New Media, the most relevant aspect of yesterday’s lecture was how advances in electrical and digital technology have changed media communication. Out of nearly 50,000 years of human communication, the past 200 have seen two major shifts, the Industrial Revolution, and it’s successor, the Digital Revolution. The first was collective in nature; it created a mass culture, a common set from which large populations could similarly consume. The Digital Revolution had an atomizing affect on the Media changes that happened during the Industrial. Instead of people consuming from a common set, people are instead participating in a common set, a good example would be the differences and similarities between Television and YouTube. I think this relationship, between mass consumption and mass participation is a fundamental aspect of New Media or Social Media, and an interesting entry point into its study. 

Sharing vs. Searching

During the panel discussion on Friday one of the most interesting points made was on how we come upon information and entertainment on the Internet has changed. Sites that aggregate content, such as StumbleUpon, Reddit, Tumblr, and Digg are replacing search engines. What does this mean for the supposedly participatory nature of New Media? While people do make much of this content, such mindless autonomous acquisition could return us to earlier, more television-like, types of acquisition.

History of Communication

Last nights class was very interesting. We applied probability, physics, positional notation, the telegraph etc. to understand how communications evolved. First, the telegraph was invented in 1844 and had to have wires. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, which had a complex wiring system, and is also the ancestor of the computer system. In 1897, Guglielmi Marconi invented the wireless telegraph in hopes that it would be a way for people to communicate with each other, but instead its main purpose was used for broadcast radio. Another important person to remember is Claude Shannon. His information theory laid the basis for electric computers and stated that energy is fundamental to the universe. Furthermore, information was defined as the opposite of entropy. In other words information is what is needed to reduce uncertainty and therefore, makes a difference. In addition, Norbert Weiner coined the term cybernetics for his science of control. This was the beginning of computer science and cognitive studies. It is very fascinating to see how these advancements in the past have shaped the communication we use now.

From Telegraphs to Cybernetics

Throughout Professor Strate' lectures he has illustrated the timeline of events that have strengthened and advanced our ways of communication. A simple machine as the telegraph eventually became the foundation of networking for an array of types of communication. A critical idea that was shared in this class was that of electromagnetism. This is the idea of a field of all types of radiation emitting in all directions to make such things as cellular devices and radio possible. The advancement of such methods as using teletype and the facsimile have become outdated and ancient relative to cybernetics and the modern day computer. Cybernetics was brought about by Norbert Wiener. Cybernetics is the science of control and Mr. Wiener believed that information was essential to control. Claude Shannon developed the information theory. This theory leads us to believe that the fundamental make up of the universe is energy. He also stated that everything has a tendency to lead to chaos whether it was entropic to begin with or not.  Wiener also expressed that every signal that is sent out is degraded in some sense and that to stop degrading we must use amplification and redundancy. Many of these theories are used in everyday life such as in the comparison of network television shows to television commercials. The idea of positional notation has rooted back from cultures and their monetary systems and is now used in many different ways. With time comes discovery and advancement and Professor Strate is diligently leading us through the history of how we have come to communicate in present day.

Information Class Was Very Informational

The way professor Strate started the information section in class was very memorable.  T.S Elliot's poem called "The Rock" is a poem about how life has gotten so complicated with the use of technology.  He is wondering where life has gone and how we are coming nearer to our deaths.  This was a good way to start off the class because we talked about the heat death of the universe, where the statistical tendency will eventually even out and everything will become the same causing the end of the world.  It was also interesting to learn about bits and bytes.  I do not remember learning about them, but when professor Strate mentioned that my childhood jump ropes games were made from lyrics about bits, I was shocked.  I had no idea this was the case.  For example, I thought the "shave and a jump rope, 2 bits" tune was just a quirky knock that people used to knock on doors.  It was also interesting to learn about positional notation.  Although this is a communication class, I enjoyed learning about this, even though I got confused at times.  The last thing I though was extremely interesting was how Claude Shannon laid the basis for electric computers based on his masters thesis.  Learning about the mathematical theory of communication and how it has evolved was something I never knew, but glad I do now.

Westchester Campus Presentation

When I was first told that there would be a special presentation with four professionals involved in new media, I was ecstatic.  When I finish my last year of college in the upcoming year, I would love to be involved in the public relations field, and more specifically involved with new media.  Constantin Basturea, Robin Colner, Chris Cornell, and Paull Young were all very helpful when explaining what each of them do within their company.  I never knew that there were companies out there that help other companies execute social media in the right way, like Constantin Basturea does.  I really liked the how Robin Colner helps those smaller companies who do not have the money and resources to use a company like Constantin's at Converseon.  She teaches the smaller companies how to use the right information and what keeps them moving in the wrong direction, which is definitely something I can see myself doing in the future.  Chris Cornell is also helpful in what he does because he helps companies produce things that the people want.  I think it is a great quality to have to know how to make a company successful through new media.  I am glad that Paull Young went last because his accent was fun to listen to and it was also calming to know that someone as young as him can be successful.  I always thought that I would have to wait many years to become extremely successful, but if there is something out there that I am interested in, Paull Young taught me that I should chase my dreams and do as much as possible to make them come true.  All four speakers were clear in what they were saying and I am thankful that I got to go to a presentation like this one.  Although social networks seem to be primarily to a young audience for entertainment purposed, or at least that is what I think, it is a growing medium used for many big and small companies around the world.  Knowing how to use and navigate through these sites at a young age will hopefully help me when I am looking for a job in this field in the future.

History of Communication class

The second day of class was very informational and a great way to start learning about new media.  Learning about the history of language, both written and spoken, was an insightful way to see how language has evolved throughout thousand and thousands of years.  It is extremely interesting to think that cave paintings were used to communicate about 30,000-20,000 years ago.  Although I like to think of myself as creative, my drawing skills are not like Picasso and communicating through pictures would be a huge challenge for me.  I also commend people like Gutenberg for being innovative enough to invent a movable printing press that changed the world completely.  The key developments in the history of communication that we learned in class made me more aware that many more key developments will occur in the future.

New Media Program Launch

This past Thursday our introduction to new media class attended a very informative launch for the new program for new media at the Westchester campus. I found this conference very helpful since is shined light on the importance of social media for big, small and non-profit businesses. Each of the four panelists provided great information to help businesses grow. They also stressed the importance of social media and that in order for a company to grow and be known, social networking is of huge importance. Since these media industries are expanding rapidly, this conference showed the significance of keeping up with the emerging trends and media platforms. It also reiterates that the world is becoming much more visual and in order to spark awareness and provide good customer service, a company must be on all of these popular sites.

Launching of New Media Program at Westchester Campus

Although the New Media event our class attended last Thursday was catered towards graduate students, I still found the launch to be very informative. Through their professions, the four panelists explored the multifaceted aspects of social media. I found it compelling the way each professional was able mold the different platforms into marketing tools for their respective clients. Furthermore, I enjoyed that the panelists specialized in different categories of cliental such as small businesses, large companies, and non-profit organizations. Hearing their experiences definitely gave me some perspective of what I plan to do in the future. The panelists' insights made me realize how powerful and valuable social networking could be in the business world, especially on the internet. When social media is brought to its full marking potential, it can bring great success to any business. Information and advertisements concerning businesses are easily accessible, are spread much faster, and can be seen by a vast range of viewers. The idea behind New Media seems to be that internet platforms appeal to the realms of both pleasure and business.

History of Communication

In wednesday nights' lecture we learned of an array of things from different types of participation in new media to the impacts of the industrial revolution on communication. Many things have evolved such as the printing press and locomotive, but one fact still remains and that is that we have always been in need of more efficient ways to communicate. Professor Strate illustrated that to us through a descriptive display of past events that have lead up to modern day communication and new media. It is interesting to know that to comprehend and actually communicate a language an individual has to think in the way of that language. The creation of symbols to count cows, the creation of an alphabet, and the creation of the mechanical clock all illustrate the level of necessity that our society holds on communication. I am looking forward to all that I am going to learn this semester and know that it will aid in the advancement of my future studies.

New Media Event at Westchester Campus

Our class attended an event at Fordham's Westchester campus in place of class on Thursday. The event was a presentation to kick off Fordham's School of Professional Studies' New Media program. Four panelists whose careers deal in new media use in marketing and public relations spoke about their experiences, as well as about the importance of social media use for business purposes. The presentations were interesting to hear because this use of social media is so different from the way most college students use social media. When I hear the phrase "social media," my first thought is Facebook and keeping in touch with friends. Each of the four panelists had slightly different experiences, but they all drove home the point that social media is extremely helpful and necessary to drive profits in this day and age, and that a University program that concentrates on New Media will be very helpful for students.

History of Communication Lecture

What sets humans apart from animals is our ability to use language, which is the basis of all communication. It goes so far as to influence how we view the world. Even the most remote and primitive tribes have spoken languages. Something that stuck with me from this class was the idea that through language, we create inner maps of the world that guide us. The first written language, called cuneiform, came from the Sumerians in Mesopotamia in 3500 BCE. Communication continued to develop over time: the Semites invented the first alphabet in 1500 BCE, and the Greeks invented their own in 700 BCE. Systems for mathematics also developed around this time. In the 1450's, Gutenberg invented the printing press with movable type, making it easier to produce books. In the 19th century, the industrial revolution laid the groundwork for mass communication and mass media. Electricity also helped the development of communication. Given all that has happened since the dawn of the computer age, one has to wonder just how far communication will progress in our lifetime.