TOPIC ONE week three. Question A.

In what ways can the Net be thought of as an ‘open architecture?’

In terms of the growth of the Net, it has been described as a ‘truly remarkable cultural achievement’ (Lister, M. page 164). This growth is certainly remarkable and cultural, but it is interesting to think of it as an ‘open architecture’ as this reminds me of buildings and cities. But this makes sense here because in this case, the Net could be metaphorically described as a city. Where buildings could be the areas the internet has, e.g. games, social sites, shopping, research, emails, etc, and rooms in these buildings are individual websites, forums and pages. This way, it is easy to imagine the Net as being an ‘Open Architecture’ because, metaphorically, a user can walk into this city, and easily enter any building, any room and interact or become involved somehow with the people within it. This cultural and metaphorical city (the ‘architecture’) which is, here, the Net, is very open because everything is simply so accessible to anyone and everyone.

TOPIC THREE week two. Online Blogging.

The navigation of blogging could be considered similar, in some ways, to having conversations about the work with peers face-to-face. This is because in both scenarios, a user/converser will bring up a topic, with a small discussion and receive responses from others, either in the form of comments in person and blog comments. Similar to real life conversation, these posts or responses will then be replied to and so a discussion, perhaps involving new users/converser's who have heard/read the conversation so far, will occur.

The only difference would be the time as the real life conversation would end after a few minutes/hours whereas the online version could last weeks, with replies not being posted for several hours or days sometimes. Also a lack of physical interaction could give a different path of discussion within the conversation or even a different outcome, for example, facial expressions, body language and immediate reactions.

TOPIC TWO week two. Online Seminars.

Online seminars are of course very different from real life seminars however this brings forward both benefits and disadvantages.

For example, there are no people to immediately interact with, the user must wait for responses and feedback to be typed and placed online. In terms of navigation and fac-to-face interaction, instead of listening to others opinions and ideas and visually seeing and reacting to this, the user must find and read each others Seminar discussions, which is surely more effort and work?

However, a benefit of it, in terms of knowledge, authority and identity, the user has much more time and less pressure in their thinking and answering, and so surely the users answers and ideas will come out better than being put on the spot in a seminar room with all their peers waiting for a reply. Also, there is a fair turn-taking system here because all users have a chance to say something, in the confidence of not being humiliated or outshone by any other user as is sometimes the case in face-to-face seminars, and many real-life situations as well.

TOPIC ONE week two. Questions A and C

In my opinion, technological changes such as the replacement of Office 2003 with Office 2007 are a very consumerism-based replacement. What need will we have, as users of such programs, of buying the new one when its functions and overall purposes will be exactly the same as the old one? I think it is simply to publicize and refresh the name to users and consumers as a way of reminding them of their existence and also to sell something new for more business.

Also, new media IS a source of ‘progress’ in the sense that they enhance things we do in spheres of social activity, for example, online shopping, education using the internet such as part-time degree and A-level learning, online conference and business meetings, health advice and keep-fit programs, so may aspects of life are made accessible using the internet and its ‘progress’. It could be said that this ‘progress’ is a growth, almost, because the expansion of the internet, its functions, purposes and limits has been ‘growing and progressing’ since its first arrival to the public in the late 20^th Century.

Week 3. Turkle

A) Turkle's ideas of a simulated world being created inside the social realm of the internet are very interesting, persuasive and controversial.
I think the ideas that identity and relationships being formed online are false and inconveniently comfortable (because they are not real) is one that i don't personally agree with.
Relationships made online only lead to a 'real life' relationship after the people have met in real space. They don't only ever have a virtual relationship, otherwise what would be the point in meeting and getting to know another person in an environment they obviously feel more comfortable, safe and confident in, just to speak with online and never actually spend real time with?

B) 'Computer screens are the new location for our fantasies, both erotic and intellectual.' This idea that we use computers for the location of all our private affairs is probably quite true, but it also raises the debate about identity again, and how people use this 'location' to change, lie or simple exclude certain aspects of theirs.
For example, there are people who change or completely use a false identity for a bad purpose, such as pedophiles and online stalkers. However another aspect of this is people who simple choose not to reveal certain parts of their identity such as race, age, gender etc and this can be for more positive purposes such as online dating, where they are simply omitting things they feel others don't need to know about right away.



C) 'The lessons of computing today have to do not with calculation and rules, but with simulation, navigation, and interaction.' In my opinion, this point is very true, when mobile phones first became popular, it was largely business people who owned one for similar reasons as the computer (calculation and rules), however children even as young as seven can be seen with a mobile phone in their hands, and i, admittedly, would feel totally lost and befuddled without a mobile with me at all times.
People perhaps feel a certain social connection when carrying a mobile phone or sitting at a computer screen because they will always have someone to talk to if they wanted, and there is also a sense of safe when being somewhere unknown or unfamiliar if you have a mobile, perhaps because of such quick and simple interaction and navigation if it is needed?