Navigating Technomedia

Navigating Technomedia by Sam Han was a well-written article that had many interesting points throughout.  For me, learning the definition of Technomedia was extremely important.  Technomedia was defined as "media technologies that are defined by interoperability between devices, usually using the internet as the connective modem…Thus technomedia refers to the fluidity between various media and technologies" (p. 3).  This definition was followed by an example of how television has changed over time.  I was impressed after reading and thinking about how much technology has evolved over the years, especially thinking about the TV, computer and cell phone.  It is evident today that a lot of different pieces of technology work together to achieve faster and more accurate results by being able to work flawlessly with one another.  This is supported in the article when the author writes, "today, technomedia make even clearer that specific media are not tied down to a corresponding technology" (p. 4).  By branching out and combining, technology is absolutely booming and continuing to do so.  Ideas are taken from the past and present, gearing towards an even more advanced future.  It is happening right before our eyes, yet I feel that it is sometimes overlooked.

Another part of the article that I enjoyed was the part that talked about the three eras of technology (Mechanical, Electric, and Broadcast).  Reading about some of the earliest and most important inventions during these time periods was quite informing.  

In conclusion, seeing how the "fluidity" between media and technology helps make our world more efficient was very insightful.  I can only imagine how much more advanced the future will be and what it entails for us.  Great article.

Second Life

I found the article Second Life very interesting as it was from a woman's perspective.  The article focused on gender in the Second Life online environment.  While reading the article, I was surprised to see how uneasy the women felt about creating an avatar and joining the rest of the people in the Second Life world.  One of the women, Georgia, feared interaction with others and kept to herself while Delia opted to go in with a male avatar for "the fear of being woman in a world where she didn't know what that would entail, but where her (real) life experiences suggested the particular possibility of being rendered a sexualized object" (p. 10).  This fear of being objectified and harassed in an online game made me think about how screwed up things really are.  These women have come to expect to be harassed because of their gender.   

Another thing that surprised me about the article was how many people followed the stereotypical views of gender with their avatars.  Women had "slender bodies, tiny waists, big breasts, long hair, revealing clothing," and men had "broad shoulders and muscular upper bodies" (p. 18).  It was startling to see how many people abandoned their real characteristics and followed society's view of perfection.  This online atmosphere seems like a reflection of the stereotypical views we have in society.  People were still afraid to be themselves even though they were hiding behind a computer. 

Computer Power and Human Reason

The article From Computer Power and Human Reason  was very amusing and I found it to be extremely relevant to our class material.  I learned that human language wasn’t a big part of computing until the 1960's.  This was surprising to me.  In this article, I also learned about Joseph Weizenbaum and his system Eliza.  This system was way ahead of its time and was taught over a two tier arrangement.  The first tier was composed of a language analyzer and the second was composed of "doctor" script.  Eliza played the role of a psychotherapist in his first experiment.  I was amazed when I saw the conversation between the two and could not believe Eliza was able to keep the conversation going.

This article also brought up the debate on computer reliance.  Weizenbaum states "now there are signs that a full-scale debate about the computer is developing.  The contestants on one side are those who, briefly stated, believe computers can, should, and will do everything, and on the other side those who, like myself, believe there are limits to what computers ought to be put to do" (p. 373).  This quote made me think about today's world and how computers are heavily relied upon by the younger generation and expected to do everything.  My parents are moderate computer users but definitely feel like there should be a limit to how far technology goes.  I agree with them, but technology is advancing an incredible pace.  I wonder if we will ever see the day where computer's are doing the job of a psychotherapist on the regular.  I think we are heading in that direction.  

The Technology and the Society

The Technology and The Society was a very interesting article, but one that also had me confused at various times while I was reading it.  Raymond Williams made some interesting analogies throughout the article and I really liked how he broke it up into three main sections.  Section A was titled "Versions of Cause and Effect in Technology and Society."  My favorite part about this section was when he talked about the differences between technological determinism and symptomatic technology.  As readers, we find out that technological determinism is "assumed as self-generating" and that symptomatic is also "self-generating, but in a more marginal way."  This was interesting to me to see his definition of these two different positions.  Section B was referred to as "The Social History of Television as a Technology."  In this section, it was interesting to see the history of telegraphy, photography and the television itself.  It blew my mind that these inventions were being talked about in the 1800s-1900s.  Getting this historical perspective was another important part of this article.  Section C was titled "The Social History of the Uses of Television Technology."  This section was filled with a ton of information.  I really enjoyed the part on broadcasting and how important the press was for Britain in times of crisis like the Civil War and Commonwealth.  It made me think about how important the press was during these times and how many people's lives depended on the messages being sent and received. 

Just Like Me Only Better

Just Like Me Only Better was an interesting article to say the least.  I learned about Second Life, which I had never heard of before and also some history behind the term 'avatar'.  Avatar is a word in today's world that is fairly common.  There are internet and video game avatars and when I first heard this word, I just accepted it for what it meant and never thought about its' origin.  This article stated that the word 'avatar' came from Sanskrit and it was used to describe gods when they visited the world in mortal form.  Today, "the avatar is a form of social representation of the self" (p. 1).  It was nice to learn about where this word originally came from.  It definitely surprised me.

The whole Second Life idea was very interesting to me and the whole time I was reading about it, I kept thinking about the movie, Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis.  In this movie, people live life through their 'surrogate selves' or avatars while their actual bodies are controlling what's going on from a 'stem chair'.  Although the Second Life idea isn't quite as advanced, it has the same premise behind it as people get to choose how other people get to them.  It's amazing to me that so many people would get into creating an avatar.  It is something that I have definitely overlooked.  The results of the study also shocked me, as Western media beauty standards were the most dominant.  Many people want this perceived look of perfection that we have all come to know from the Western media.  I was just surprised that so many different nationalities also saw this as the most "desirable" way to look. 

Overall, this article was enlightening.  I learned a lot of new information that I was completely unaware of.