I HAVE A BLOG YAY!
(to all those reading: Yes, I know that’s an obvious fact)
Tutorial:
Our tutorial covered various types of networks in our world today. We found that not all networks are necessarily based on technology, such as social networks. Through much brainstorming a list of common networks was constructed:
- Internet
- Instant Messaging/Chat/Skype
- Myspace/Facebook
- Mobile and Landline Telephones
- Online Games with interaction between two users (e.g. World of Warcraft)
- Advanced Console Games
- Limewire
- Blogs (e.g. Livejournal)
- Photosharing
- Virtual Worlds (Second Life)
After creating my blog (hooray!) I participated in the survey regarding our technology usage, so a collection of results from students taking this course could be gathered and analysed during the lecture.
Lecture:
Phishing; Sending out bulk emails in the hopes of receiving credit-card details in return.
This definition sparked a discussion on the countless amounts of scam emails we’ve all received. I used to receive roughly 20 spam emails a day, most trying to sell Viagra and male genitalia –enlargement products (what use an 18yr-old female has for them is beyond me!).
Survey
The collective results of last week’s survey from all New Communication Technologies students were analysed and compared to results of students in America who completed the same questionnaire.
Unfortunately I was unable to find the exact data set of American students from the Pew Internet and American Life Project (http://www.pewinternet.org/) from the broad homepage link provided on Learning@GU, so I don’t have much to comment on other than the fact the American results were similar in some aspects to our own responses. I believe the most crucial result of Griffith’s New Comm. Tech. students was that 0% said they never used email; clearly disproving the hypothesis of the lecture and showing that email is clearly not dead.
Reading: Walter Benjamin
“The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
Ok, I’ll be honest… I have a short attention span so although a read a few bits and pieces of the chapters I could only fully digest the preface and epilogue. From these two sections I still feel I have understood the philosophical ideas put forward by Walter Benjamin to be a logical examination of technological development.
Benjamin suggests that war is, in a sense, beneficial for technological advancement in terms of both development and functionality (mobility) because all resources are striving towards a shared goal. War also fulfils one of our mutual fantasies; “the metalisation of the human body”. With the use of technology our strength and endurance can excel way beyond the limitations of our own bodies. War gives us a reason to improve our offensive and defensive weaponry which some, such as Walter Benjamin, consider to be an advanced futuristic art form. Unnatural utilization of productive forces is the result of war and proves that although technological advancement may occur, our society is not mature enough to homogenize with this technology.
(to all those reading: Yes, I know that’s an obvious fact)
Tutorial:
Our tutorial covered various types of networks in our world today. We found that not all networks are necessarily based on technology, such as social networks. Through much brainstorming a list of common networks was constructed:
- Internet
- Instant Messaging/Chat/Skype
- Myspace/Facebook
- Mobile and Landline Telephones
- Online Games with interaction between two users (e.g. World of Warcraft)
- Advanced Console Games
- Limewire
- Blogs (e.g. Livejournal)
- Photosharing
- Virtual Worlds (Second Life)
After creating my blog (hooray!) I participated in the survey regarding our technology usage, so a collection of results from students taking this course could be gathered and analysed during the lecture.
Lecture:
Phishing; Sending out bulk emails in the hopes of receiving credit-card details in return.
This definition sparked a discussion on the countless amounts of scam emails we’ve all received. I used to receive roughly 20 spam emails a day, most trying to sell Viagra and male genitalia –enlargement products (what use an 18yr-old female has for them is beyond me!).
Related Story:
I saw a show on TV about spam emails just weeks before the lecture (if I remember the name I will surely post it). They conducted an experiment to see how much spam they could generate in 1 week. After creating a new email account on a brand new computer (to stop the risk of viruses) and turning off all the spam filters, they did the following to attract maximum spam:
- Clicked on pop-up links
- Entered online competitions with the new email address
- Replied to all or majority of spam received with “Thank-You. I am very interested, please send more.”
By the end of the test period these guys had roughly 6,000 spam emails sitting in their inbox!!
Survey
The collective results of last week’s survey from all New Communication Technologies students were analysed and compared to results of students in America who completed the same questionnaire.Unfortunately I was unable to find the exact data set of American students from the Pew Internet and American Life Project (http://www.pewinternet.org/) from the broad homepage link provided on Learning@GU, so I don’t have much to comment on other than the fact the American results were similar in some aspects to our own responses. I believe the most crucial result of Griffith’s New Comm. Tech. students was that 0% said they never used email; clearly disproving the hypothesis of the lecture and showing that email is clearly not dead.
Reading: Walter Benjamin
“The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
Ok, I’ll be honest… I have a short attention span so although a read a few bits and pieces of the chapters I could only fully digest the preface and epilogue. From these two sections I still feel I have understood the philosophical ideas put forward by Walter Benjamin to be a logical examination of technological development.
Benjamin suggests that war is, in a sense, beneficial for technological advancement in terms of both development and functionality (mobility) because all resources are striving towards a shared goal. War also fulfils one of our mutual fantasies; “the metalisation of the human body”. With the use of technology our strength and endurance can excel way beyond the limitations of our own bodies. War gives us a reason to improve our offensive and defensive weaponry which some, such as Walter Benjamin, consider to be an advanced futuristic art form. Unnatural utilization of productive forces is the result of war and proves that although technological advancement may occur, our society is not mature enough to homogenize with this technology.
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