To visit my final project-in-progress, tap here.
I am writing about travel blogs and would enjoy your input.
Tell me stories. Send me photos. Link me to your own travel blog.
Thanks for playing.
20 December 2006
05 December 2006
MySpace, ByeSpace, ThySpace, BuySpace
So, the WSJ article. The life and death of an idea. OK, I'm being a bit severe, but I'm listening to some fab, bippy-hoppy, electronica right now from Eric Amarillo. I'm just dancing in my chair while I write this. How does electrified happiness translate into the demise of social networking sites? It doesn't. I just wanted to include a little something from my life. Because I want you to know me. ME. I want you to rank me, file me, serial number me. I want you to judge me. Based solely on my music choices. Or how many friends I have on Friendster. Or how good my package looks in my flak suit as I suit up to fly a plane. [That's a bit of an obscure reference, I think. Did they actually let him fly it? Dumbass.] I must say this peppy amalgam of sound is extremely repetitive. Like EXTREMELY. But it's like the best eight bars of the peppiest tune. Over and over. So you keep getting excited again and again. Now, Air just came on. Totally different feel. OK, back to life and death.
Vauhini Vara is a size queen. She laments the unwieldiness of MySpace. She discusses the infection of social networking sites by greedy advertisers. (Is there anything, anything at all, that doesn't have advertising attached to it these days? Does Cheetos sponsor everything? Is everything "brought to you by" one of the zillions of Johnson & Johnson products? It is a sad, sad day.) Vara quotes Judit Nagy, VP of Consumer Insights at Fox Interactive Media as saying that MySpace is "moving from a growth spurt into a phase of maturity." Isn't it a bit to early to use the term "maturity"? We talked about this a tiny bit last night. Or at least Colin tried to get us to talk about it. Where are we going with all this? What is the future of social networking? Can we even answer that question now? Isn't it still too early for predictions? The co-option of SNS by advertisers may drive them to an early grave at this rate.
In my ponderings over the separation between one's online identity and one's real identity, I found this in Vara's article. She talks about a fella who chose to terminate his account with MySpace because of the porn spamming. This is how she phrased it:
"Last spring, Mr. Kalyn killed his MySpace profile."
KILLED? Yikes #3. This plays along with my aghastness (aghasticity?) at MonkeyPuppy's blurring of the me/my profile lines. Colin always asks, "Are we our blogs? Do we write them or do they write us?"
Our very own JoeyDee has some ideas for computer cryogenics that might answer the question.
Vauhini Vara is a size queen. She laments the unwieldiness of MySpace. She discusses the infection of social networking sites by greedy advertisers. (Is there anything, anything at all, that doesn't have advertising attached to it these days? Does Cheetos sponsor everything? Is everything "brought to you by" one of the zillions of Johnson & Johnson products? It is a sad, sad day.) Vara quotes Judit Nagy, VP of Consumer Insights at Fox Interactive Media as saying that MySpace is "moving from a growth spurt into a phase of maturity." Isn't it a bit to early to use the term "maturity"? We talked about this a tiny bit last night. Or at least Colin tried to get us to talk about it. Where are we going with all this? What is the future of social networking? Can we even answer that question now? Isn't it still too early for predictions? The co-option of SNS by advertisers may drive them to an early grave at this rate.
In my ponderings over the separation between one's online identity and one's real identity, I found this in Vara's article. She talks about a fella who chose to terminate his account with MySpace because of the porn spamming. This is how she phrased it:
"Last spring, Mr. Kalyn killed his MySpace profile."
KILLED? Yikes #3. This plays along with my aghastness (aghasticity?) at MonkeyPuppy's blurring of the me/my profile lines. Colin always asks, "Are we our blogs? Do we write them or do they write us?"
Our very own JoeyDee has some ideas for computer cryogenics that might answer the question.
Teenagers...Yikes!
For last night's class, we read the How Teenagers Hijacked the Internet article. Yikes. A lotta them.
Yikes #1:
"Wikipedia gets 54% of its traffic from Google search results. The majority of Wikipedia visitors then proceed to MySpace or Blogspot, both of which use Google as their search service."
[Kinda vicious cycle, no? Kinda bordering on some Big Brother action, right?]
The "intimate relationship" between these entities has affected the true, or organic, nature of their symbiosis. Even though Google's Big Daddy program "still calculates the popularity of Websites by counting incoming links," the article suggests that the results are still manipulated. Due to this behind-the-scenes backscratching, the value or popularity of a website may not actually have organically grown. We like to think that sites are popular because they have caught on, that they have an audience, that their cleverness in content and design has won them the popularity they deserve. But in truth, that doesn't really matter. Which takes us to...
Yikes #2:
"Wikipedia, the 'encyclopedia' whose 'editors' are mostly unqualified teenagers and young adults is touted by Google as an authoritative source of information." [You thought that was enough? No, the Yikes grows into the following YIKES] "In search results, it is placed well ahead of sources of veritable information such as universities, government institutions, the home pages of recognized experts, the online full-text content of peer-reviewed professional and scholarly publications, real encyclopedias (such as the Encarta), and so on." YIKES. After our discussions of the value of Wikipedia, doesn't that statement undermine Google's credibility?
Yikes #1:
"Wikipedia gets 54% of its traffic from Google search results. The majority of Wikipedia visitors then proceed to MySpace or Blogspot, both of which use Google as their search service."
[Kinda vicious cycle, no? Kinda bordering on some Big Brother action, right?]
The "intimate relationship" between these entities has affected the true, or organic, nature of their symbiosis. Even though Google's Big Daddy program "still calculates the popularity of Websites by counting incoming links," the article suggests that the results are still manipulated. Due to this behind-the-scenes backscratching, the value or popularity of a website may not actually have organically grown. We like to think that sites are popular because they have caught on, that they have an audience, that their cleverness in content and design has won them the popularity they deserve. But in truth, that doesn't really matter. Which takes us to...
Yikes #2:
"Wikipedia, the 'encyclopedia' whose 'editors' are mostly unqualified teenagers and young adults is touted by Google as an authoritative source of information." [You thought that was enough? No, the Yikes grows into the following YIKES] "In search results, it is placed well ahead of sources of veritable information such as universities, government institutions, the home pages of recognized experts, the online full-text content of peer-reviewed professional and scholarly publications, real encyclopedias (such as the Encarta), and so on." YIKES. After our discussions of the value of Wikipedia, doesn't that statement undermine Google's credibility?
04 December 2006
Crash
So, MonkeyPuppy's MySpace page crashed my Firefox program. Nice.
But I must say that yikes! That's a lot of information. And the graphic near the top of the page with the woman's face covered with suggestions like: "Forward Me," "Block Me" or "Rank Me" is a bit unnerving.
What does that say about our online identities. Has MonkeyPuppy become this identity? She says "Rank ME," not "Rank my profile." The lines are blurred between fantasy and reality, between what you write and what you are. What does that say about self-esteem? The language changes the sentiment. By melding herself with her online presentation (at least rhetorically), MonkeyPuppy seemingly asks for personal approval or disapproval. Quite interesting.
OK. Full disclosure (I love saying that): I was jumping around a bit haphazardly on her page. That may have caused the crash.
But I must say that yikes! That's a lot of information. And the graphic near the top of the page with the woman's face covered with suggestions like: "Forward Me," "Block Me" or "Rank Me" is a bit unnerving.
What does that say about our online identities. Has MonkeyPuppy become this identity? She says "Rank ME," not "Rank my profile." The lines are blurred between fantasy and reality, between what you write and what you are. What does that say about self-esteem? The language changes the sentiment. By melding herself with her online presentation (at least rhetorically), MonkeyPuppy seemingly asks for personal approval or disapproval. Quite interesting.
OK. Full disclosure (I love saying that): I was jumping around a bit haphazardly on her page. That may have caused the crash.
Safety Tips from Bebo
Here is a page from Bebo about Internet safety, written by Parry Aftab, the head of WiredSafety.org, "the world's largest online safety and help group." Below is something about them:
WiredSafety, Is A 501(c)(3) Program and the largest online safety, education and help group in the world. We are a cyber-neighborhood watch and operate worldwide in cyberspace through our more than 9,000 volunteers worldwide. (WiredSafety is run entirely by volunteers.)
WiredSafety, Is A 501(c)(3) Program and the largest online safety, education and help group in the world. We are a cyber-neighborhood watch and operate worldwide in cyberspace through our more than 9,000 volunteers worldwide. (WiredSafety is run entirely by volunteers.)
Our work falls into four major areas:
- help for online victims of cybercrime and harassment
- assisting law enforcement worldwide on preventing and investigating cybercrimes
- education
- providing information on all aspects of online safety, privacy and security.
Together with our affiliate, www.wiredcops.org, specially-trained volunteers patrol the Internet looking for child pornography, child molesters and cyberstalkers. We also offer a wide variety of educational and help services to the internet community at large. Other volunteers find and review family-friendly Web sites, filter software products and Internet services. Along with the volunteers of our affiliated WiredKids.org, our WiredTeens and Teenangels, CyberMoms and CyberDads volunteers speak at local community groups and schools around the country teaching Internet safety. Our Cyber911 help line gives netizens access to help when they need it online. We are proud of our reputation as the one-stop-shop for all cyberspace safety, privacy, security and help needs.
WiredSafety is headed by Parry Aftab (also a volunteer), a mom, international cyberspace privacy and security lawyer and children's advocate. Parry is the author of The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace (McGraw-Hill), which has been adapted and translated around the world. WiredPatrol volunteers range in age from 18 to 80. WiredKids range from seven to twelve, and the Teenangels from 13 to 18, and these programs are run in conjunction with WiredKids.org, also headed by Parry Aftab. WiredSafety backgrounds include everything from TV personalities, teachers, stay-at-home moms, retired persons, law enforcement officers, and students to PhD's and writers.
Bebo
My new best friend Fred Stutzman pointed us to Bebo (among other SNS in his blog). This is what I found:
Bebo is the next generation social networking site where members can stay in touch with their College friends, connect with friends, share photos, discover new interests and just hang out.
From previous experience, the people who work at Bebo have learned a lot about what makes social networks fun, and believe that with Bebo they've taken social networking to the next level. But, we're never satisfied with where we are today, so please do send in any suggestions on how we can improve our service to better meet your needs. We promise we will listen and keep improving Bebo.com!
Bebo, Inc. is based in San Francisco, California.
Now, they say they've taken it up a notch, but don't say how. I'll keep poking around.From Fred
Fred Stutzman refuted my ramblings about community. Well, not DIRECTLY...
However, people can't and don't want to be active on too many social network sites. We simply don't have the time to spend checking messages and keeping up with all the action in all those different walled gardens. So that's why we all join Myspace and Facebook, and not your social network.
So the "build it and they will come" proposition is false.
However, people can't and don't want to be active on too many social network sites. We simply don't have the time to spend checking messages and keeping up with all the action in all those different walled gardens. So that's why we all join Myspace and Facebook, and not your social network.
So the "build it and they will come" proposition is false.
Let's Hear It For The Boy
Let's toast Reality!
I failed to wend my way to this point in my post from two posts ago:
After all of my online dating, showing up at people's doors to find out they were too not-what-they-said-they-were or not-what-I'd-hoped-they'd-be, I realized there's nothing like a good, old fashioned date. In person. Yeah. I mean actually meeting the person, sensing their energy, seeing their face, smelling their [I don't know! Where am I going with this?]. I have concluded that the in-person, you-just-know, I'll-know-the-moment-I-meet-them energy exchange is the most important. We've all heard of the "He's perfect on paper" lament. And it's true. I've had that. Perfect. On paper. But not in person. Terrific, smart, talented, artistic, likes to cook, all of it. But the spark wasn't there. I need the feeling. The gut feeling. The deeper, this-is-something feeling.
AGAIN I've betrayed myself. I've clearly checked the DATING box on my profile. I've never even OWNED a My Little Pony.
I failed to wend my way to this point in my post from two posts ago:
After all of my online dating, showing up at people's doors to find out they were too not-what-they-said-they-were or not-what-I'd-hoped-they'd-be, I realized there's nothing like a good, old fashioned date. In person. Yeah. I mean actually meeting the person, sensing their energy, seeing their face, smelling their [I don't know! Where am I going with this?]. I have concluded that the in-person, you-just-know, I'll-know-the-moment-I-meet-them energy exchange is the most important. We've all heard of the "He's perfect on paper" lament. And it's true. I've had that. Perfect. On paper. But not in person. Terrific, smart, talented, artistic, likes to cook, all of it. But the spark wasn't there. I need the feeling. The gut feeling. The deeper, this-is-something feeling.
AGAIN I've betrayed myself. I've clearly checked the DATING box on my profile. I've never even OWNED a My Little Pony.
Communitizing
Good points in Clay Shirky's musings on online communities. Community is organic. I live next door to a restaurant called Joe Allen. It is owned by Joe Allen. It is a bistro of sorts that serves the theater community here in NYC. It has become quite famous over the last 50 years with no advertising. Joe created a place for theater folk to hang out after shows and let it build quietly. It is now filled with celebrities and theater people and tourists every night. He has Joe Allen restaurants in London, Miami and Ogunquit, Maine. He opened Orso restaurant next door to Joe Allen in 1983, with the same m.o. There are Orso restaurants in London and Los Angeles. Last year, Joe opened Bar Centrale, upstairs from the New York Orso. Again, he let it build solely on word-of-mouth. We just got word this week, about one year later, that Orso and Joe Allen staff members are not allowed to mention Bar Centrale to customers anymore. The Bar has too many regulars already who expect to be seated after theater. No more new people. In one year.
That is how a community is built. Let it generate on its own. If you build it, they will come.
That is how a community is built. Let it generate on its own. If you build it, they will come.
03 December 2006
I Can't Be Clever All The Time
I want to respond to some of the stuff we're reading this week, but I'm too tired and uninspired to come up with a title for this post. Consider it Homework #14.
Cheers is a place where everybody knows your name. Do we all wish they'd type "SPAZEBOY!" or "COSMO JILL!" every time we logged on? Are we secretly jazzed every time our blogs are linked to or someone mentions us in their musings? Do we desperately try to keep with up with our online friends' lives via their blogs? Do we want to know each other?
I am still mystified, in a sense, by the desire for the heretofore anonymous bloggers to want to convene at, say, a convention. The beauty of anonymity, one might say, is that it affords one more liberties, more freedom of expression, for some. Didn't we read somewhere that while the Internet offers a networking opportunity, it also keeps people away from real-life social situations? Its usage is almost oxymoronic. (My spell-check flagged that one.) The digital community has come to replace the flesh-and-blood. We "meet" new people. Discuss our common interests. And no matter how honest and revealing we might be online, there is no truth-o-meter. I may not actually be a thirteen year old girl who is conflicted about what to do with her My Little Pony playset. The oxymoronity (flagged) continues. I can be completely honest about myself or I can completely hide my identity behind a manufactured persona. There is no way for the viewer to know.
This takes me to this week's subject: social networking. The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde dynamic—or perhaps it is the Diana Prince/Wonder Woman dynamic that is at work here. Who do we present to our "Friends" on Friendster? The initial impulse for joining an online social network should be noted. The 13yo girl could be looking for other lamenters of lost youth on MySpace. Or I could be looking for a boyfriend on Friendster. Or our cool cat from LiveJournal could be tossing around a new IM language she shares with her boyfriend, just to entertain the small audience of her friends.
I began experimenting with social networking in AOL chat rooms back in, probably, 1993 or so. There were no pictures then. Just profiles. People would often put physical descriptions of themselves in there, along with personality stuff and likes-and-dislikes. The user perused the profiles and then contacted the person based on what they had written about themselves. Interesting that the physical appearance was completely taken out of it. Now, people quickly learned what traits in the description attracted people. So, often, many people had similar physical characteristics. The truth was revealed only when they opened the door to their apartment.
When I revisited the chat rooms a few years later, I learned that I would not even be given the time of day without a picture posted up there. (I believe we still had to scan in a photograph at that time. It still amazes me how antiquated that sounds and it was probably ten years ago.) Now, the picture helps. But it is still a chosen representation, on the part of the poster, and a mere two-dimensional, see-what-I-want-to-see image for the viewer. How do you choose your photo? Will it be cheerful or brooding? Will it be topless or more modest? Will it be an active, I-play-sports shot or a passive, I-like-piña-coladas-and-getting-caught-in-the-rain shot? All these questions are very important, as they will contribute to your projected image.
Later, these sites expanded to include photo albums. Now you were able to show yourself in many different aspects of life. You could show your friends, your dog, your surfboard. You could write about your faves, in the hopes someone else might like to watch Psycho Beach Party over and over, just like you. Or share your love of The McGuire Sisters AND The Pointer Sisters AND Scissor Sisters. Do they like zany British comedy television like Absolutely Fabulous AND political talk shows like The McLaughlin Group?
No matter how honest you are or if you claim to be Anna Nicole Smith's pharmacist, you have chosen every speck of that online presentation. Different pieces of it will resonate with different viewers. I'm afraid I have betrayed myself a bit. I realize that my point-of-view has mostly been from the dating side of things. Full disclosure: I'm not thirteen. I'm not a girl. And I'm distraught over my Strawberry Shortcake playset.
Cheers is a place where everybody knows your name. Do we all wish they'd type "SPAZEBOY!" or "COSMO JILL!" every time we logged on? Are we secretly jazzed every time our blogs are linked to or someone mentions us in their musings? Do we desperately try to keep with up with our online friends' lives via their blogs? Do we want to know each other?
I am still mystified, in a sense, by the desire for the heretofore anonymous bloggers to want to convene at, say, a convention. The beauty of anonymity, one might say, is that it affords one more liberties, more freedom of expression, for some. Didn't we read somewhere that while the Internet offers a networking opportunity, it also keeps people away from real-life social situations? Its usage is almost oxymoronic. (My spell-check flagged that one.) The digital community has come to replace the flesh-and-blood. We "meet" new people. Discuss our common interests. And no matter how honest and revealing we might be online, there is no truth-o-meter. I may not actually be a thirteen year old girl who is conflicted about what to do with her My Little Pony playset. The oxymoronity (flagged) continues. I can be completely honest about myself or I can completely hide my identity behind a manufactured persona. There is no way for the viewer to know.
This takes me to this week's subject: social networking. The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde dynamic—or perhaps it is the Diana Prince/Wonder Woman dynamic that is at work here. Who do we present to our "Friends" on Friendster? The initial impulse for joining an online social network should be noted. The 13yo girl could be looking for other lamenters of lost youth on MySpace. Or I could be looking for a boyfriend on Friendster. Or our cool cat from LiveJournal could be tossing around a new IM language she shares with her boyfriend, just to entertain the small audience of her friends.
I began experimenting with social networking in AOL chat rooms back in, probably, 1993 or so. There were no pictures then. Just profiles. People would often put physical descriptions of themselves in there, along with personality stuff and likes-and-dislikes. The user perused the profiles and then contacted the person based on what they had written about themselves. Interesting that the physical appearance was completely taken out of it. Now, people quickly learned what traits in the description attracted people. So, often, many people had similar physical characteristics. The truth was revealed only when they opened the door to their apartment.
When I revisited the chat rooms a few years later, I learned that I would not even be given the time of day without a picture posted up there. (I believe we still had to scan in a photograph at that time. It still amazes me how antiquated that sounds and it was probably ten years ago.) Now, the picture helps. But it is still a chosen representation, on the part of the poster, and a mere two-dimensional, see-what-I-want-to-see image for the viewer. How do you choose your photo? Will it be cheerful or brooding? Will it be topless or more modest? Will it be an active, I-play-sports shot or a passive, I-like-piña-coladas-and-getting-caught-in-the-rain shot? All these questions are very important, as they will contribute to your projected image.
Later, these sites expanded to include photo albums. Now you were able to show yourself in many different aspects of life. You could show your friends, your dog, your surfboard. You could write about your faves, in the hopes someone else might like to watch Psycho Beach Party over and over, just like you. Or share your love of The McGuire Sisters AND The Pointer Sisters AND Scissor Sisters. Do they like zany British comedy television like Absolutely Fabulous AND political talk shows like The McLaughlin Group?
No matter how honest you are or if you claim to be Anna Nicole Smith's pharmacist, you have chosen every speck of that online presentation. Different pieces of it will resonate with different viewers. I'm afraid I have betrayed myself a bit. I realize that my point-of-view has mostly been from the dating side of things. Full disclosure: I'm not thirteen. I'm not a girl. And I'm distraught over my Strawberry Shortcake playset.
26 November 2006
Words vs. Pictures
Was I not confident as a writer?
Look at the difference between my Viking Around blog from my time living in Sweden and this one. VA was nearly all images. I enjoyed playing with the form in Sweden, adding photos and links to David Hasselhoff videos and things. I wanted to share my experiences with friends and family back home. Did I doubt my abilities as a writer to pen an entertaining, insightful blog? Is a picture truly worth a thousand words? That sure saves time.
I look at this blog. Virtually no photos or videos. Links, though. I've learned to do links. The platform has made it easier to do some things. I changed the whole template, for crying out loud. I wonder why I don't incorporate more pictures into my posts. It's almost as if the two blogs are structural opposites.
Look at the difference between my Viking Around blog from my time living in Sweden and this one. VA was nearly all images. I enjoyed playing with the form in Sweden, adding photos and links to David Hasselhoff videos and things. I wanted to share my experiences with friends and family back home. Did I doubt my abilities as a writer to pen an entertaining, insightful blog? Is a picture truly worth a thousand words? That sure saves time.
I look at this blog. Virtually no photos or videos. Links, though. I've learned to do links. The platform has made it easier to do some things. I changed the whole template, for crying out loud. I wonder why I don't incorporate more pictures into my posts. It's almost as if the two blogs are structural opposites.
Easy
That's me.
On Common Visual Design Elements of Weblogs, the conclusion that "One pattern clearly emerging as a result of this research is that individual webloggers do not tend to make substantive structural changes to the layout of their sites. This confirms one of the predictions / observations leading to this study: that "significant" customization among weblog users is in fact somewhat rare."
That, to me, is an interesting observation. As I just wrote in my last post, I had difficulty changing my initial presentation at first. A sense of permanence overtook me. However, this statistic surprised me. I would have thought that as users became more comfortable with the platform/software/technology, they would experiment more and push the envelope even further. Are the geeks still doing that? And are we just seeing a preponderance of amateur blogs out there and therefore seeing a preponderance of pre-fab templates? Just what is before ponderance?
On Common Visual Design Elements of Weblogs, the conclusion that "One pattern clearly emerging as a result of this research is that individual webloggers do not tend to make substantive structural changes to the layout of their sites. This confirms one of the predictions / observations leading to this study: that "significant" customization among weblog users is in fact somewhat rare."
That, to me, is an interesting observation. As I just wrote in my last post, I had difficulty changing my initial presentation at first. A sense of permanence overtook me. However, this statistic surprised me. I would have thought that as users became more comfortable with the platform/software/technology, they would experiment more and push the envelope even further. Are the geeks still doing that? And are we just seeing a preponderance of amateur blogs out there and therefore seeing a preponderance of pre-fab templates? Just what is before ponderance?
In My Image
Alright. I have already wasted plenty of valuable cramming time fiddling with my blog. In the spirit of our focus on images and presentation, the best I could do without completely blowing off my homework was to change my self-portrait (see below). I wanted to blow the lid off it and change my entire template, customize it as much as I could, play with both form and style. But I will be utterly unprepared for class tomorrow if I do. Plus I spent so much time creating this template, I'm afraid to let it go.
Actually, that raises a question regarding permanence. I changed my blog template earlier this semester. It was a difficult thing to do, because I liked that blank, white slate template. I had always wanted a blank, white slate template. And there I went, jettisoning my dreams. There seems to be a need for great care in creating one's online identity. What will you say about yourself? If people get to know you as one presentation, how hard might it be to change that? Will people respond negatively to a new image? This may go deeper than just trying on a new outfit. It might go so far as to change people's perception of you. Gay folks often hear "I don't know you anymore" when they come out, particularly from their families. "I have to re-imagine everything about you. I have to go through our history together and reexamine everything. I have to re-think." If people got to know me as the blank, white slate, how will they relate to the new blue/green look with the customized headers and footers? If I say, "this is the real me," how will they categorize my past posts? And what if I change it again? Do I have any more or less responsibility to my casual readership than someone like Dooce or Daily Kos have to their sponsored audiences?
Actually, that raises a question regarding permanence. I changed my blog template earlier this semester. It was a difficult thing to do, because I liked that blank, white slate template. I had always wanted a blank, white slate template. And there I went, jettisoning my dreams. There seems to be a need for great care in creating one's online identity. What will you say about yourself? If people get to know you as one presentation, how hard might it be to change that? Will people respond negatively to a new image? This may go deeper than just trying on a new outfit. It might go so far as to change people's perception of you. Gay folks often hear "I don't know you anymore" when they come out, particularly from their families. "I have to re-imagine everything about you. I have to go through our history together and reexamine everything. I have to re-think." If people got to know me as the blank, white slate, how will they relate to the new blue/green look with the customized headers and footers? If I say, "this is the real me," how will they categorize my past posts? And what if I change it again? Do I have any more or less responsibility to my casual readership than someone like Dooce or Daily Kos have to their sponsored audiences?
20 November 2006
Convention Truth
Hey Kids!
Please check out the comment thread in this post about the history of blogging conventions. I was mistaken in my understanding of the New York Times article I had read in July. The YearlyKos Convention was not actually the first. CGG and Aldon added some interesting information.
Please check out the comment thread in this post about the history of blogging conventions. I was mistaken in my understanding of the New York Times article I had read in July. The YearlyKos Convention was not actually the first. CGG and Aldon added some interesting information.
19 November 2006
Colin Must Have LOVED This Article
The "nutsy and boltsy" article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
This was published about 19 months ago. It does demonstrate some of the fear surrounding a new medium. It feels to me that a few memes were perpetuated about blogs early on. Remember the reports of people getting fired for writing about their jobs online? Probably true. Possibly overreactive by the employers and more than likely a less-than-smart move on the part of the employee. But these couple of cases caused a near panic in the uninitiated. "What's this blog? I don't even know what a blog is." I feel we get panicky about our privacy in this country. So, it naturally follows that in a soul-baring medium like the online journal, this is a hot topic.
Not only are the early adopters scrambling to make sense. But then you've got those who are left behind or who are running to catch up who strike fear into the rest to give themselves a better footing. Just sue the pants off 'em to start with. Put the fear of Corporate America into those scrappy bloggers. Don't let anyone know who you are! Or do let people know who you are. Or let them think they know who you are. It's complex, my friends.
This was published about 19 months ago. It does demonstrate some of the fear surrounding a new medium. It feels to me that a few memes were perpetuated about blogs early on. Remember the reports of people getting fired for writing about their jobs online? Probably true. Possibly overreactive by the employers and more than likely a less-than-smart move on the part of the employee. But these couple of cases caused a near panic in the uninitiated. "What's this blog? I don't even know what a blog is." I feel we get panicky about our privacy in this country. So, it naturally follows that in a soul-baring medium like the online journal, this is a hot topic.
Not only are the early adopters scrambling to make sense. But then you've got those who are left behind or who are running to catch up who strike fear into the rest to give themselves a better footing. Just sue the pants off 'em to start with. Put the fear of Corporate America into those scrappy bloggers. Don't let anyone know who you are! Or do let people know who you are. Or let them think they know who you are. It's complex, my friends.
WritingAsJoe
I enjoyed WritingAsJoe's interview-with-self about pseudonyms and pseudonymy (that was flagged in the spell-check: pseudonymousness? Nope. Pseudonymaticity? Nope. I give up).
His was a more flippant, breezy ponderance (again... ponderosa? Nope. Ponderation? Nope.) on the subject. As I read more of these personal essays on being personal or impersonal, I find more and more different opinions. Some are vehemently against stealth identification. Others couldn't care less.
His was a more flippant, breezy ponderance (again... ponderosa? Nope. Ponderation? Nope.) on the subject. As I read more of these personal essays on being personal or impersonal, I find more and more different opinions. Some are vehemently against stealth identification. Others couldn't care less.
Wise?
The Wiseass also embraces the networking aspect of blogs.
How, you might ask, could I possibly network without revealing my identity? Well, for one thing, I'm learning and benefitting a heck of a lot from reading the work--and receiving the comments of--many other bloggers, anonymous or not. And I'm also not entirely opposed to the idea of "outing" myself to other bloggers I've come to trust.
I am reminded of the first blogging convention that happened this summer. How does a gathering like this work with online personae? Now that Second Life has emerged, might this not be a better place to hold the convention, allowing more bloggers to attend, including those wanting to remain anonymous?
How, you might ask, could I possibly network without revealing my identity? Well, for one thing, I'm learning and benefitting a heck of a lot from reading the work--and receiving the comments of--many other bloggers, anonymous or not. And I'm also not entirely opposed to the idea of "outing" myself to other bloggers I've come to trust.
I am reminded of the first blogging convention that happened this summer. How does a gathering like this work with online personae? Now that Second Life has emerged, might this not be a better place to hold the convention, allowing more bloggers to attend, including those wanting to remain anonymous?
The Wiseass
In her Bloggers Anonymous post, the Ancrene Wiseass writes:
"...one of this blog's purposes is writing myself into the kind of person I want to be--with a little help from my friends."
How's that for an interesting thought on the subject?
This coincides with Colin's meme of "Do we write our blogs? Or do our blogs write us?"
"...one of this blog's purposes is writing myself into the kind of person I want to be--with a little help from my friends."
How's that for an interesting thought on the subject?
This coincides with Colin's meme of "Do we write our blogs? Or do our blogs write us?"
Blimey!
Is undercover blogging like calling your mobile phone company's customer service and speaking to them in a different accent from your own?
OK, Here's One
One thought, that is.
I spent last winter in Stockholm and I did keep a blog whilst there. I wanted to experiment with this new medium and I wanted to connect with folks back home. My handle was the mysterious "ChrisA"and I'm pretty sure nobody figured out who I was.
My big identity struggle came as I worked out the differences between my home culture and my new culture. As I wrote about the difficulties of being an immigrant, of the bizarro-world ways of doing things sometimes and just the humor in it all, I chose, as my audience, Americans—folks back home who understand where I'm coming from. I chose not to share my blog with my relatives and new friends in Sweden. I was objectively viewing their culture, learning about it with respect, but getting a real kick out of the differences. I was afraid I would offend someone with my observations.
So, in my case, it wasn't the pseudonym which kept me anonymous, but my mailing list. Of course, anyone in Sweden could have stumbled across my blog, or my aunt in Jämshög could have called my uncle in Montclair, New Jersey who could have mentioned that I was writing this thing. But, in my own way, I attempted to control the readership just a little bit.
I spent last winter in Stockholm and I did keep a blog whilst there. I wanted to experiment with this new medium and I wanted to connect with folks back home. My handle was the mysterious "ChrisA"and I'm pretty sure nobody figured out who I was.
My big identity struggle came as I worked out the differences between my home culture and my new culture. As I wrote about the difficulties of being an immigrant, of the bizarro-world ways of doing things sometimes and just the humor in it all, I chose, as my audience, Americans—folks back home who understand where I'm coming from. I chose not to share my blog with my relatives and new friends in Sweden. I was objectively viewing their culture, learning about it with respect, but getting a real kick out of the differences. I was afraid I would offend someone with my observations.
So, in my case, it wasn't the pseudonym which kept me anonymous, but my mailing list. Of course, anyone in Sweden could have stumbled across my blog, or my aunt in Jämshög could have called my uncle in Montclair, New Jersey who could have mentioned that I was writing this thing. But, in my own way, I attempted to control the readership just a little bit.
Lady of the Piles
I have been exploring Reassigned Time and enjoying her ramblings. Her postings about pseudonyms reminded me of the rules game we read about regarding linking to websites. Dr. Crazy outlined her own issues regarding anonymity and its relevance to blogging in general. She does make some good, if angry and reactive, points. Hers is one of the available guidelines to pseudonymous posting on the Internet. It's worth finding all the relevant posts on this subject. Her response is emotional because she is reacting to an actual incident that occurred with her blog. She has full reason for the outpouring of thought and we benefit from it in that she has really thought about this subject and expounded upon it.
I will continue researching before I offer my own thoughts on the subject of online pseudonyms.
I will continue researching before I offer my own thoughts on the subject of online pseudonyms.
Never Write a Post While Smoking Crack
OK, that was just a bid for attention.
Without even rereading that last post, I am beside myself. I'm afraid my absence from class caused me to lose momentum. I had been caught up in the McTide of Blogging On. I had gleefully continued utilizing this new medium, exploring it, learning both about it and from it. Then, my new job took me away from it. I traveled. I saw the country. (It's big.) I stayed with friends. Saw some from childhood. It was awesome. Staying with friends doesn't leave you with much time to yourself. To blog. I'd had fantasies of myself alone on the road in hotel rooms at the end of the day's journey. Well, not really alone. I had my blog. But those high school friends, the neighbor-across-the-street whom I met when I was four, my mom's best friend's eldest son who has an eight-week old baby with his partner, all with spare rooms, left me with no time to spend with my blog. My poor, neglected, blue-and-green blog. Perhaps my blog is just blue now.
OK, enough emotional confessions which keep me from doing my real homework.
Without even rereading that last post, I am beside myself. I'm afraid my absence from class caused me to lose momentum. I had been caught up in the McTide of Blogging On. I had gleefully continued utilizing this new medium, exploring it, learning both about it and from it. Then, my new job took me away from it. I traveled. I saw the country. (It's big.) I stayed with friends. Saw some from childhood. It was awesome. Staying with friends doesn't leave you with much time to yourself. To blog. I'd had fantasies of myself alone on the road in hotel rooms at the end of the day's journey. Well, not really alone. I had my blog. But those high school friends, the neighbor-across-the-street whom I met when I was four, my mom's best friend's eldest son who has an eight-week old baby with his partner, all with spare rooms, left me with no time to spend with my blog. My poor, neglected, blue-and-green blog. Perhaps my blog is just blue now.
OK, enough emotional confessions which keep me from doing my real homework.
Chris and Information, sitting in a tree...
You guessed it: K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
I love information. I have oft been quoted as saying, "It's all about learning!" while rifling through a dictionary at a particularly trying moment during a game of Scrabble. Information is gained through education. They go hand in hand, don't they? As a big proponent of education, I enjoy imbibing information (can one actually imbibe information?). How we take it in, process it, store it and use it fascinates me. How do two people look at the same piece of information but interpret it differently? How do they use that same piece of information for different ends? (Look at the divided political groups. Look at the distortion factor.) When we are told, "Just the facts, ma'am. Just the facts," are we able to truly give just the facts? Is all information subjective? Scientists might credit evolution with who we are today, based on what they call "scientific evidence," or facts. Many religious people believe otherwise. They don't take "facts" and digest them in the same way. I might view a crime scene and give the detective "just the facts," but my facts will differ from the facts of another witness. We will each pick up on different things based on our psychologies, life experiences, upbringings, professions, faith systems, perhaps. So, how can we truly pare down the facts to "just the"? Of course, if the car was blue, you'd say, the car was blue. There's no refuting that. Sure, the basic color was blue. But if you ask me to further define the hue, that's where the gray area begins (pun intended).
How can one even write about one's relationship to information? OK, I'll drop the distancing pronoun and simply ask how can I do it? Opting out of the assignment on weak philosophical grounds is not really an option. So, stop whining, you say, and just answer the damned question. (That's a question: Is it damned or damn question?)
I import information into my personal hard drive, otherwise known as my brain. I process that information through the use of thoughts and sometimes even thought processes. Wait, I unintentionally went redundant. "What's your thought process behind that?" leads to an understanding of the interpretation of the information, I suppose. These complex muscular conglomerates we call "mouths" are terrific tools for information spreading. And I use that thing all the time. You are just lucky enough to read what I'm saying, only I'm writing and not speaking, and, at the same time, trying not to edit myself, so as not to get in trouble with the teacher.
How do you, the viewing public, even let me ramble on for this long? Why haven't you switched the channel? In fact, you probably have, unless you're my teacher and you're being paid to stick around. Hey, Colin. Thanks for reading to the end. It is the end. Really.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G would be a great word for Scrabble. Not a whole lot of high-scoring letters, but it uses all seven tiles which is an automatic 50 points.
I love information. I have oft been quoted as saying, "It's all about learning!" while rifling through a dictionary at a particularly trying moment during a game of Scrabble. Information is gained through education. They go hand in hand, don't they? As a big proponent of education, I enjoy imbibing information (can one actually imbibe information?). How we take it in, process it, store it and use it fascinates me. How do two people look at the same piece of information but interpret it differently? How do they use that same piece of information for different ends? (Look at the divided political groups. Look at the distortion factor.) When we are told, "Just the facts, ma'am. Just the facts," are we able to truly give just the facts? Is all information subjective? Scientists might credit evolution with who we are today, based on what they call "scientific evidence," or facts. Many religious people believe otherwise. They don't take "facts" and digest them in the same way. I might view a crime scene and give the detective "just the facts," but my facts will differ from the facts of another witness. We will each pick up on different things based on our psychologies, life experiences, upbringings, professions, faith systems, perhaps. So, how can we truly pare down the facts to "just the"? Of course, if the car was blue, you'd say, the car was blue. There's no refuting that. Sure, the basic color was blue. But if you ask me to further define the hue, that's where the gray area begins (pun intended).
How can one even write about one's relationship to information? OK, I'll drop the distancing pronoun and simply ask how can I do it? Opting out of the assignment on weak philosophical grounds is not really an option. So, stop whining, you say, and just answer the damned question. (That's a question: Is it damned or damn question?)
I import information into my personal hard drive, otherwise known as my brain. I process that information through the use of thoughts and sometimes even thought processes. Wait, I unintentionally went redundant. "What's your thought process behind that?" leads to an understanding of the interpretation of the information, I suppose. These complex muscular conglomerates we call "mouths" are terrific tools for information spreading. And I use that thing all the time. You are just lucky enough to read what I'm saying, only I'm writing and not speaking, and, at the same time, trying not to edit myself, so as not to get in trouble with the teacher.
How do you, the viewing public, even let me ramble on for this long? Why haven't you switched the channel? In fact, you probably have, unless you're my teacher and you're being paid to stick around. Hey, Colin. Thanks for reading to the end. It is the end. Really.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G would be a great word for Scrabble. Not a whole lot of high-scoring letters, but it uses all seven tiles which is an automatic 50 points.
Thank You
This is a letter to my class. Thank you for your post-class posts post the class with the myriad guests from the blogosphere. I can only imagine it resembled the cantina in Star Wars.
I thank you all because I was unable to attend (being trapped in the Springs of Colorado) and it gave me a good insight into what went on, who said what, who got in trouble and who kissed whom out in the hallway.
I thank you all because I was unable to attend (being trapped in the Springs of Colorado) and it gave me a good insight into what went on, who said what, who got in trouble and who kissed whom out in the hallway.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
