Week 12: “I believe...” New Media, Beliefs and Politics

Religion 2.0: Updating our Beliefs
By Shaun Buzza

There is a place in New Media for all beliefs... well technically that isn’t entirely correct. New Media being fundamentally reliant on technology, limits certain religions into its threshold. As Charles Ess identifies in his online article, Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Religion and Computer-Mediated Communication; “suspicion regarding online environments that was not uncommon in the 1990s, especially on the part of more conservative traditions”. The Amish community, for instance, separate themselves from the use of modern technology.

Though apart from the perfectly acceptable minority of religious groups, there are a lot who have embraced the use of Internet technologies, using them as another outlet of information and communication. Today most religious beliefs can be found on authenticated sites on the net. A lot of large community Christian and Catholic churches, for example, have their own website where information on their beliefs can be accessed, church times, FAQ’s, as well as forums, news and events etc.

The Ess article goes on to state; “Also highlighted in the studies in this issue are important characteristics and features of religious traditions that make them better suited—albeit in varying degrees—to migration online.” Every religion has their own values and traditions, making others (as mentioned above) more suitable for online environments. Either way you look at it, New Media has made some mark in the way we value these beliefs and traditions, wether we choose to accept or reject the transition.

References
Ess, C. (2007). Cross-cultural perspectives on religion and computer-mediated communication. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(3), article 9.

Week 11: Writing an essay

Cite this Page
By Shaun Buzza, 06/05/2010

Personally essay writing is one of the most difficult forms of assessment in University. It requires strict coherence to the rules and regulations of not only the area of study, but the essay structure and writing in general. During my experiences the major problem I encounter is referencing.

Referencing is essential as it provides a backing source to any arguments or information you produce in an essay, and acts as a verification of source, ideas and understanding. Good referencing begins with good source material. Irrelevant or unreliable information can result in clumsy arguments and can be difficult to verify (if the information has no author or additional features such as dates and publication location). Academic resources provide a foundation for accessible and reliable information, and therefore the basis of a strong essay and less difficulty citing sources.

This becomes more of an issue when using the internet, as information being readily distributed it is harder to verify decent resources. Sites such as the obvious example “Wikipedia” can cause an issue if used in writing an essay. The information provided by open source sites quite commonly contains unreliable information with no verification of its origin. At best these sites should be used as a starting point for branching out to academic and professional material.

The Murdoch University provides some valid points when considering source information:

“reading with a questioning mind - not accepting that something is true simply because it is published and not expecting that there is any single correct answer to complex questions;

reading in order to understand both the meaning of each individual sentence and its relationship to the developing structure of the argument;

evaluating continuously what you are reading by testing the opinions and judgments of the writer against the evidence she/he provides and against the opinions and judgments of other writers (and maybe against your own experience) and then by deciding whether this material is relevant to the purpose of your essay.”

References

Marshall, L & Rodgers, K. (2004). A Guide to Essay Writing. Murdoch University.
http://help-online.murdoch.edu.au/students/studyhelp/es_write.html

Week 10: Why blog at all and how is it done?

Micro-blogging: Addictive in Small Doses
By Shaun Buzza, 30/04/2010

“Do people have enough time to use these tools? If so, does that mean that they are somehow not the people who are already "too busy" at their jobs? Are the only people who will use the tools exactly those people who the organization views as time wasters, tinkering about, etc”. Weller, M. (2007).

For the everyday web 2.0 user, hosting a large, successful and meaningful blog site isn’t exactly number one on their online agenda. The idea of micro-blogging; being to upload small amount of content in a casual manner, is more accessible and occupies less of our time and attention. Sites that enable us to micro-blog (including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter as mention in this week’s tutorial) allow for a more personal, casual and social approach to what we know as blogging.
While it seems like less work to post our “status” of “tweet”, are we actually accessing these platforms in more frequent doses? The answer remains ambiguous, but it is reasonable to suggest that more people access Facebook and Twitter nowadays more than your average blog site. In fact most people probably don’t realise that such an exercise can be classified as blogging, that’s how casual micro-blogging has become. Needless to say, as long as the individual demands attention and remain narcissistic, micro-blogging will always have a small say in society.

References:

Weller, M. (2007). Is blogging a good use of time?

Week 9: "I feel better already/": New Media, Health & Well-Being

“The Internet is making me ill”
By Shaun Buzza

Health and well-being is determined on a number of levels, physical, metal and emotional. New media has the ability to influence these areas of our personal health and can play a slight contribution a number of negative effects.
Using technology is the beginning factor. Employees and students are excessively exposed to working with computers. Physical issues relating to posture, vision and RSI are common amongst computer users. Bad posture can lead to aches and pains in the back or neck, blurry vision or headaches can be caused by over-exposure to computer monitors, and excessive typing can cause us to have sore wrists. Though only minor issues, most of us have experienced these and can add to the stress of everyday life.

Utilizing new media features of the web can be addictive. Social Networking sites are commonly populated, so are the likes of gaming servers as well as video and music sites. Accessing all of these has become a past-time, hobby or in some cases even daily routine. It is easy to use up hours of time on Facebook, talking to friends and playing games or looking up videos, and this can lead to a number of issues in regards to mental and emotion health. Tiredness and sleep deprivation are drastic examples of over-consumption of New Media, so are social side-effects surrounding emotional well-being including cyber-bullying/stalking. Again seemingly small when compared to the burdens of everyday life, though a small number of these cases can result in quite serious problems.

While these issues do not directly relate to online diagnosis of illnesses or drug prescription, it is definitely interesting to take note of the other side of the coin, where we not only use new media in regards to our health, but where it can be the cause of health issues, as minuscule as they may seem. Maybe staying up into the early hours of the morning on Facebook or gaming isn’t such a good idea when you have work or school later that day?

Week 8: Getting Ahead: Working with New Media

New Media: Working to Live
By Shaun Buzza

“I do find the speed of Change intimidating at times, I admit that. I find it difficult to keep my work in check”. Gill, R. (2007)

New Media is evolving at an exponential rate. We are constantly adapting ourselves to the change in order to keep up with these trends and movements, whether it be phone technology or how we manage our online communications. In a working environment it is increasingly essential, especially if we are working in an environment that is dependent on modern technology. There are many jobs associated with New Media such as development, integration, testing and interaction, as well as many more that use New Media on a regular basis.

There are many opinions when it comes to working in an are heavily associate with New Media. Freelancing is one career path that depends quite solely on the use of modern web technology, and while content pouring onto the web is infinite the security found in a permanent job is one to be desired. A common worry seems to be based on the notion of keeping up with the field, and this can impact directly on income. Someone with grater experience and knowledge is obviously more likely to get paid for a job than someone who isn't.

The main argument could be that Freelancing is all about keeping up in the field, and that ongoing learning and experience is mandatory in such a job. In a business structure on sight training is usually given to keep up with modern advancements, and it is this kind of security that is difficult to find, especially in areas associated with writing for the web and web development. Undeniably so, New Media is apparent in all fields of work and is constantly on the change for bettor or for worse.

References

Gill, R. (2007). Informality is the New Black. In Technobohemians or the new Cybertariat? New Media work in Amsterdam a decade after the web. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures: 23-25

Week 6: Tell me more, tell me more...": Information, Education & Work

Studying or Socialising?
By Shaun Buzza

As I sit here in a computer lab at my university, I look around at other people’s computer monitors. Without going into specific detail there a few people typing homework or assignments, a few more browsing the internet, two people on Facebook and I can also see someone on MSN Messenger. While it is obvious that the use of internet technology has greatly influenced the way we work and study, and some would argue that multitasking has become second nature, it is hard to say how useful the internet is as a tool when it can be used for almost everything else.

I suppose I can use an analogy and liken the internet to a Swiss pocket knife. It has multiple functions where some are more useful than others. On one side we have multiple blades that can be used for cutting food, for camping and fishing etc, screwdrivers for changing batteries and fixing appliances. And yet on the other we have toenail clippers, tweezers and toothpicks for maintain our appearances in public, as well a bottle opener and corkscrew for parties and social gatherings. So much like a pocket knife, the internet has its professional tools and social ones. The integration and relationship between the two categories (social and professional) have been fused, further backed up by Howard and Massanari’s article; ‘Learning to Search and Searching to Learn:
Income, Education, and Experience Online’, where it states the social aspects of search related study.

So when we consider the effectiveness of the internet as a tool for work and study, we must release that it is not necessarily one, but many tools that have different uses and specifications. In essence we must first establish our motives, objectives and how we handle multitasking.

References

Howard, P. N. & Massanari, A. (2007). “Learning to Search and Searching to Learn: Income, Education, and Experience Online”. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 12(3), Article 5.

Week 5: "Vital Signs of Life: Maintaining Visibility on the Social Stage"

Who Am I?
by Shaun Buzza, 25/03/2010

Identity is a very personal concept; in the real world identity is vital to a person or person’s existence, portrayal and well-being. The compromises to identity including; theft and falsification, blur its integrity not only within the real world but virtual environments as well.

Public displays of connection, as they are referred to by J. Donath and D. Boyd, are the established links in the virtual world that help prove identity. They are most commonly expressed on social networking sites, though can be found on blogging and other various networking sites. These connections remain very broad and can include; links and references, status updates, photographs, blog posts, comments, friends etc., all of which can be assembled and translated into a virtual perception of someone’s online identity.

Of course we can only gather what people network, so our vision of identity can still be skewed by what information people allow us to see. There are obvious depictions such as photos and general posting online, but on a subconscious level there are virtual trails that people unintentionally leave behind that can also contribute to their identity. How we sculpt our virtual Identities is entirely up to us, though we must always be aware of the implications when our identities become public.

References

J. Donath & D. Boyd. (2004). “Public Displays of Connection”. BT Technology Journal, volume 22 (4): 71-82.

J. Donath. (1996). “Identity and deception in the virtual community”. Communities in Cyberspace, University of California Press: 1-25.