Starter For Ten's Net34 Blog

Mod 6.1: Representing The Self

2010-02-16T22:46:00.003+11:00

I found this task quite challenging! Initially I used a "free avatar creator" site and came up with this character:

Yes, she has brown hair and eyes the same as me – but there the similarity ends! I felt like this "person" looks like she's a 20 year old student, not one in her 40's! I did use this avatar for a week or so on Twitter and Facebook, but in truth did not feel comfortable at all with it.

I then decided to use a real photo of myself on Twitter. I have used this same photo on my blog now for about a year, and am comfortable with it. However, I also like the idea of having a logo!

I love writing, and tried to think of an image that would represent my love of writing. I had an idea in my mind of using an old typewriter. Many years ago, as a young child, a relative gave me one and I used to bang out stories for my family and friends on it. Anyway, I came across this "royalty free" image that could be downloaded free (many other pictures and stock photos I looked out were available, for a fee). My daughter then replaced the "insert your text here" writing with my internet name, and there you have it – my new logo! I was even able to insert it as a background image on Twitter!

Typewriter vector image from: http://www.bazaardesigns.com/3780-old-typewriter-with-a-paper/

Mod 5.2: My Twitter Experience!

2010-02-13T22:57:00.003+11:00

I must admit I was more than a little sceptical about Twitter, I honestly could not see the point in it! However, after spending a couple of weeks both observing and tweeting, I am finally beginning to see its uses. I experimented with hashtags including #farmville, #facebook, and #farm. The 'farm' hashtag brought me lots of farming and agricultural tweets, but nothing about Farmville. The Farmville hashtag was very popular, updating every few seconds it seemed at times.

I decided to tweet about a recent story I had come across while researching, it was about a FarmVille "addict" who had been told to "get off the farm" by Dr Phil. I also tweeted about FarmVille and disaster relief in Haiti and included a link to my blog posting on the same topic. I then decided to post a link to the latest FarmVille podcast on YouTube, and re-tweeted some tweets commenting on FarmVille. As well as tweeting about FarmVille, I also tweeted about some other interesting technology/social networking stories I came across. At this stage none of my tweets or re-tweets have been commented on.

Unfortunately, I didn't find Twitter helpful at all in finding out information for my chosen topic – mainly because the FarrmVille hashtag gets absolutely bombarded by all sorts of viral marketing, for example in just one minute a whole page of tweets with this hashtag appears, but most of the tweets are promoting "FarmVille secrets" an e-book which can be purchased.. Or even worse, there were links to sites about erectile dysfunction, 100 sex secrets and haemorrhoid treatments, again all with the Farmville hashtag!

Although I didn't find Twitter helpful with my topic, I did find it useful for general social media and tech news stories and updates, and I found some good social media commentators to follow. I also realised what a useful tool it is for directing traffic to a website or blog.

Here are my tweets:

#farmville Recognition for Fans & Valentines Themed Farm Competition and More! -- FarmVille Podcast - Feb 12th http://youtu.be/54S77P7HCMY

Search engine, phones, operating system and now Ultra High speed Broadband - what's next for Google? #fdnsql http://bit.ly/ctzGgG 7:55 AM Feb 11th from web

#farmville Harvested your crops, fed your animals but forgot to feed your own family? Maybe Dr Phil can help! http://bit.ly/7bviqK 5:59 PM Feb 10th from web

#farmville FarmVille and Disaster Relief bit.ly/7HpF7N 5:23 PM Feb 10th from web

Get out of Farmville! Start a Garden for real! RT @WonderHowTo Get Out of Farmville! Dr. Phil Treats an Addict http://bit.ly/a985sx 5:01 PM Feb 10th from TweetMeme

Will we be buzzing now instead of tweeting? #fdnqf5 http://smh.com.au/technology/technology-news-nqf5.html 11:27 AM Feb 10th from web

No more junk mail??? iPad could be the nemesis of direct mail | The Australian: http://bit.ly/d5OID5 via @addthis 11:59 AM Feb 1st from web

Facebook friends can be real after all! #fdmwet http://smh.com.au/technology/technology-news-mwet.html 9:14 AM Jan 27th from web

Trying to get my head around Twitter...still don't see the point of it! 12:49 AM Jan 26th from web

And the re-tweets:

JoshuaBrown18 What a buggy POS that #farmville is. Seriously, why would anyone put that out. The mrs was trying it with the kids. I tried to help. Mistake. about 4 hours ago from web Retweeted by you

Sunilgarg RT @justinesherry RT @pyro: It's interesting to note that Farmville has more active players than the entire population of France. 11:37 AM Feb 10th from Twitterrific Retweeted by you and 1 other

Farmvilletweet Learn how to optimize your FarmVille farm layout to guarantee fast harvesting and eliminating withering of your crops. http://bit.ly/7pzzKH 1:08 AM Jan 31st from API Retweeted by you

Mod 5.1 Writing Task: Consolidating Your Presence

2010-01-31T14:28:00.000+11:00

I was planning to just make a few changes to my blog, but ending up totally revamping it! It took me an entire day, but I learnt so much in the process! Here’s what I did:

Changed Template

I was originally using one of the templates on the Blogger.com site but wasn’t entirely happy with it. I downloaded one I liked from: http://www.bloggertemplatesblog.com/ , - I felt this design suited both the blog topic and “me”. The template comes under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Malaysia License, which apparently means I am free to use it on my blog, as long as I retain the footer. This template also included a Search Button, which was a feature I didn’t have previously.

RSS, Delicious & Twitter

I have included an RSS link, both at the bottom of each post, and in the header. This will enable readers to receive any blog updates. I also added a link to both my Delicious and Twitter accounts.I still don’t really “get” Twitter, but maybe it will grow on me. I can see that including Delicious and Twitter adds to my “web presence”.

Slideshow

I uploaded some photos of my Farmville farm into Photobucket, and then pasted the RSS link from Photobucket into the slideshow link in Blogger.

Labels

I went through all of my posts and added labels

Blog List

I added a list of other FarmVille blogs.

Poll

Just when I thought there was nothing else I could add, I was going through the list of Blogger gadgets and came across a Poll gadget...I decided to put one in, just for fun!

Mod 4.2 Writing Task: Entering the Conversation

2010-01-24T01:06:00.007+11:00

For this weeks task, I decided to post a reply to a discussion on the Zynga site, about Facebook requesting permission to supply email addresses to applications such as FarmVille.

_____________________________________

FarmVille do still use notifications - I checked mine out today and saw there was one from FarmVille about the new 24x24 land expansion available. I usually don't even bother reading my notifications as I just use the Live News Feed for updates.

Facebook announced that they would be making these changes in October last year. Apparently, the changes are being put in place to "give users a faster and more connected experience when interacting with external applications on Facebook".

I clicked on the "No" option straight away, as I imagined my inbox flooded daily with tons of messages like "Sue just fertilized your farm" or "Fred just fed your chickens".

I visit my farm just about every day, and I've noticed that when there's any changes, new items or upgrades available the details appear on the screen anyway! At the moment there’s a 24 x 24 upgrade icon, and a Yukon icon appearing on the LHS of the screen when I am in my farm.

I think I'll be sticking with the "No" option – after all, how many times do I need to be notified about the same thing!

Link to Discussion Post

REFERENCES:

FarmVille Freak (2010) Facebook to end notifications for applications including FarmVille. Retrieved 23rd January 2010 from http://farmvillefreak.com/page/2

TadhgKelly (2010) The Coming Facebook Games Price War Retrieved 23rd January 2010 from http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TadhgKelly/20100122/4198/The_Coming_Facebook_Games_Price_War.php

TadhgKelly (2009) Zynga and the end of the beginning. Retrieved 22nd January 2010 from http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TadhgKelly/20091218/3665/Zynga_and_the_End_of_the_Beginning.php

Mod 4.1 Writing Task: Creating Generative Value

2010-01-22T15:19:00.013+11:00

FarmVille and Disaster Relief for Haiti

Image courtesy of http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/13/2791558.htm

Modern technology and social networking continue to influence and change so many aspects of our modern lives, and now it seems that disaster relief is another one of them.

Most of you reading this would of course have heard by now the news reports on the major earthquake in Haiti last week, and the dreadful loss of tens and thousands of lives arising from it. The country is struggling with the aftermath of the disaster, but thankfully, relief is flooding in from all over the world. Some of the relief is coming from unexpected sources – such as social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Wyclef Jean, a Haitian musician managed to raise $1 million by appealing to his 1.3 million followers on Twitter, while thousands of Facebook users signed up to Awareness groups to give hope and support to those affected by the devastation. In addition, BBC news reported that the Red Cross had received 8 million dollars in SMS donations.

Australian IT reported how modern technology has come to the aid of Haiti . Online maps, mobile phone donations, wikis and a range of websites are being used to help the earthquake-ravaged country. Google , as well as pledging a $1 million donation, has offered the use of their satellite imagery tools. Microsoft, Cisco and Intel are members of NetHope, an organisation which is trying to establish internet connectivity for the various relief agencies on the ground.

Zynga, the developer behind Facebook's popular FarmVille application, also announced a Haiti relief fund. Zynga's s FarmVille game players were able to purchase White Corn seeds for their Virtual Farm. The purchases, made in real dollars, have so far raised over a million dollars in just five days, with 100% of the funds raised going to the World Food Program (WFP).

In Zynga's other games such as Mafia Wars, Fishville and Poker, players are also able to purchase virtual goods, again with 100% of the funds raised going to the Haiti relief fund. So far players from 47 countries have participated in this fundraising scheme.

Last year, Zynga operated a similar scheme with their "Sweet Seeds for Haiti" which was to raise funds and awareness for sustainable and healthy meals for Haitian children and their families. The scheme was successful with $575,000 being raised in the initial instalment alone. This all goes to show that applications like FarmVille are not just about fun and games, they can have a serious humanitarian aspect to them as well.

*If you are interested in donating to the Haiti Earthquake Appeal please visit the Australian Red Cross site for more information*

REFERENCES,

ABC News Online. (2010) Frantic search for Haiti quake survivors Retrieved 19^th January, 2010 from http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/13/2791558.htm

Chubb, P (2010) Twitter and Facebook Haiti Earthquake Appeal: Power of Social Media PR News Retrieved 19^th January 2010 from

http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/01/16/twitter-and-facebook-haiti-earthquake-appeal-power-of-social-media/

Farmville Freak (2010) Zynga raises almost 1 million for Haiti relief fund with the help of FarmVille players. Retrieved 20^th January, 2010 from http://farmvillefreak.com/

Google Crisis Response (2010). Retrieved 22^nd January, 2010 from http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/

Lefkow, C (2010) Technology comes to the aid of Haiti. The Australian. Retrieved 19^thJanuary, 2010 from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/the-hub/technology-comes-to-the-aid-of-haiti/story-fn4k6e9r-1225821111534

Morgan, J (2010) Twitter and Facebook users respond to Haiti crisis Retrieved 22^nd January 2010 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8460791.stm

Zynga.com Sweet Seeds for Haiti. Retrieved 20^th January, 2010 from http://zynga.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/948/~/sweet-seeds-for-haiti

Zynga Blog (2010) Zynga creates Haiti relief Fund Retrieved 19^th January, 2010 from http://blog.zynga.com/2010/01/zynga-creates-haiti-relief-fund.html

Zynga Blog (2010) Zynga Players Raise Over 1.5 million for Haiti in Five Days. Retrieved 22^ndJanuary, 2010 from
http://blog.zynga.com/2010/01/zynga-players-raise-over-15-million-for-haiti-in-five-days.html

Mod 3.2 Writing Task - Topic Introduction

2010-01-12T13:03:00.023+11:00

DOWN ON THE (VIRTUAL) FARM

Jil Wrinkle, a 40-year-old medical transcriber in the Philippines, sleeps with his laptop next to his bed. Every night for the past two weeks Jil has set his alarm for 1:30 a.m., when he wakes up, rolls over and harvest his blueberries. He'll continue to harvest every four hours, night and day ..."WHY" you may ask? Because like millions of others worldwide, he's a FarmVille addict!

FarmVille, the Facebook application (not to be confused with Farmville, North Carolina!) is a web phenomonen – with 69 million monthly active users it's the largest Facebook application and the fastest growing social game on the internet. Every single day 22 million players log in. But what makes FarmVille so addictive? According to Mark Newheiser, a blogger on the Gamasutra website, it's because "Farmville fulfils the classic elements of addictive behavior: it rewards you for playing it by letting you have the sense of advancing in the game...and it punishes you for going too long without playing."

The game starts off simply enough: You are given land and seeds that can be planted, harvested and sold for online coins. The coins you earn can then be used to buy buildings, seeds and animals for your farm. The more "neighbours" you add (selected from your Facebook friends) means the bigger you can expand your farm.

But FarmVille is not just about fun and games; it's also a serious business. Direct purchases of virtual currency and goods will earn Zynga, the game's developers, a cool 100 million dollars this year. Last month, Zynga received $180 million in funding from Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian Investment company. This was in addition to the $200 million they received from the same company in May 2009.

As well as the real dollars that FarmVille attracts, there's also another currency at play - FarmVille cash - players earn coins each time they harvest their crops, or gain another level in the game. Adam Nash, a FarmVille player (and also a Vice President at LinkedIn!) has written blogs on the personal economics of FarmVille, calculating which crops players need to grow to earn the most coins, and then what those coins are equivalent to in the "real world". The last word, however, goes to Abhi Kumar, Zynga's FarmVille product manager, who says that "it is not about the coins players may earn on their farm - the value is the fun and enjoyment from the time spent playing".

^{FarmVille logo and picture from: http://www.smugbox.com/Facebook-Farmville-Cheats-Codes/ViewContent?id=582}

REFERENCES

Dybwad, B (2009) Facebook Slams Twitter: FarmVille is Bigger Than You. Retrieved 1^st January, 2010 from http://mashable.com/2009/12/02/farmville-bigger-than-twitter/

FarmVille Freak (2009) Farmville in News Retrieved 20^th December, 2009 from

http://farmvillefreak.com/tag/farmville-in-news

FarmVille Freak (2009) How to get FarmVille Cash. Retrieved 20^th December, 2009 from

http://farmvillefreak.com/farmville-question/how-to-get-farmville-cash

Harvey, M (2009) Online FarmVille game ploughs new fields of revenue. Retrieved

20^th December 2009 from http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article688815

Higginbotham, S (2009) Facebooks 200m cash cushion may be a lifeline Retrieved 31^st December 2009 from

http://gigaom.com/2009/05/26/facebooks-200m-cash-cushion-may-be-a-lifeline/

Kumar, A http://www.linkedin.com/in/akumar2

Malik, O (2009) Will Zynga Use $180M Funding for Shopping? Retrieved 1^st January, 2010 from

http://gigaom.com/2009/12/15/will-zynga-use-180-mm-funding-for-shopping/

Miller C & Stone B (2009) Virtual Goods start bringing Real Paydays Retrieved 31^st December 2009 from

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/technology/internet/07virtual.html?_r=1

Nash, A (2009) The Personal Economics of Farmville, Part 2 « Psychohistory Retrieved 31^st December 2009 from

http://blog.adamnash.com/2009/08/23/the-personal-economics-of-farmville-part-2/

Nash, A http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamnash

Newheiser, M (2009). “Farmville, Social Gaming, and Addiction”, Retrieved 16/12/09 from:

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MarkNewheiser/20091204/3733/Farmville_Social_Gaming_and_Addiction.php

Quenqua, D (2009) To Harvest Squash, Click Here Retrieved 1^st January 2010 from

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/fashion/29farmville.html

Welcome to the Town of Farmville, North Carolina [website]. Retrieved 10^th January, 2010 from

http://www.farmville-nc.com/

Annotated Bibliography

2010-01-03T00:16:00.006+11:00

Six Articles and Sources relevant to the topic

1. Chen, S (2009) “The Social Network Game Boom” Retrieved
1/1/10 from URL:http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4009/the_social_network_game_boom.php

Chen provides a comprehensive overview of the recent increase in popularity of social networking gaming. I chose the article because it gives a good definition of social games then goes on to describe an ideal for social games as well as business models in social networking games such as advertising and micro-transactions. The future of social games is discussed in the conclusion.

Research I conducted into Gamasutra showed that it was founded in 1997 and is a website for video game developers, it is the online sister to Game Developer print magazine. I would therefore consider this to be a reputable source.

2. Neale, L and Russell-Bennett, R (2009) “What value do users derive from social networking applications?” Retrieved 16/12/09 from
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2506/2278

I chose this article because it is a peer-reviewed article, and therefore considered reliable, especially from an academic point of view. I found this article useful in providing some background detail to the topic. Some of the other articles I have reviewed describe how to play the game, or some of the pitfalls involved, but not why people play these games, or what value they get out of it. I feel this article addresses some of these concerns.

First Monday is a peer-reviewed journal publishing articles about the internet. It was established in May 1996.

3. Quenqua, D (2009) “To Harvest Squash, Click Here” The New York Times Retrieved 31/12/09 from
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/fashion/29farmville.html?_r=1

I chose this article as it features a number of stories about how FarmVille affects the everyday lives and relationships of those “mesmerised” by it, such as the player who keeps his laptop beside his bed and sets his alarm so that he can harvest crops during the night! Some interesting facts are quoted, such as the total number of FarmVille users.

The article appeared in the New York Times online newspaper, so I would consider it to be a reliable source. Throughout the article, reputable sources such as Mark Pincus, the founder of Zynga, (the company who owns FarmVille), are quoted.

4. Newheiser, M (2009). “Farmville, Social Gaming, and Addiction”, Gamasutra, Retrieved 16/12/09 from URL: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MarkNewheiser/20091204/3733/Farmville_Social_Gaming_and_Addiction.php

I chose this report because it gives a good overview of how FarmVille works, and provides a reason why, in the author’s opinion, that it is addictive. Newheiser describes how FarmVille “virally” distributes itself around a player’s social network in an innocent way. He concludes with the view that “Farmville is more addictive than it is fun”.

I have detailed earlier in this document as to the reasons why I believe Gamasutra is a reputable source. Research into the author, Mark Newheiser, shows that he is an IT professional who is does freelance gaming writing as a hobby.

5. Luscombe , B (2009) “Are You Getting Scammed by Facebook Games?” Time.com
Retrieved 15/12/09 from URL: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1935698,00.html

This article details some of the pitfalls in using social gaming applications. The article describes how some advertisers lure players into providing their mobile phone numbers by offering them free game cash in return for completing a survey or a quiz. Unsuspecting players then get a nasty surprise when they receive their phone bill to find that they have unwittingly subscribed to a service.

I chose this article as it provides a negative view of social gaming applications. I consider the source reliable, as Time.com is the online version of Time magazine, and again, this article quotes reputable sources, such as the founder of Zynga, Mark Pincus.

6. Harvey, M (2009). “Online FarmVille game ploughs new fields of revenue” Times
online (from The Times, UK) Retrieved 20/12/09 from URL: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article6888156.ece

The other articles I have chosen show how FarmVille is played, why it is played, who plays it, and some of the problems associated with playing it. This article looks at FarmVille from a business perspective; how FarmVille and other social networking gaming applications have become a business revenue model. The article also discusses online gaming and the future for other associated businesses.

The article was published by Times online (from The Times, UK), which I consider to be a reliable source because The Times is a reputable, long established newspaper.

Six Sources of Information for following Developments

1. New York Times (online) Business Section
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/facebook_inc/index.html

This page has links to a collection of stories about Facebook. At the time of writing, there were links to 266 stories featuring Facebook. As FarmVille is a Facebook application, I thought that this site would be a useful one in terms of providing reputable news stories featuring FarmVille.

The New York Times is a reputable source (as far as newspapers can be). Their website is the most used news site in the USA (as at Dec 08), with 18 million unique users per month.

2. Gamasutra.com
www.gamasutra.com

I have included Gamasutra as a source, as it is a website founded in 1997 for game developers, and an online sister to Game Developer print magazine. I was able to find a number of interesting articles on the website regarding social networking game applications, and thought it would be an interesting site to follow as because it is aimed at game developers it would keep up to date with any news regarding gaming.

3. First Monday.com
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/index

I have included First Monday as a source of information because it is a peer-reviewed journal with articles about the internet. First Monday started in May 1996 and has published over 1,000 articles about the internet. In order to follow articles about social networking in general, as well as social networking games and applications, I subscribed to First Monday.

4. FarmvilleFreak.com
://http://farmvillefreak.com/

Although I would not quote from this site in an academic essay, I have included it as a source because of the huge amount of FarmVille information it contains. The site seems to be constantly updated - at the time of writing, there were almost daily updates, and it can be subscribed to via RSS feed. The FarmVille freak has had over 90,000 unique visitors according to Google Analytics. The site quotes Zynga (the game developer) quite extensively. I feel it will be a useful source in keeping up to date with FarmVille trends and problems.

5. Mashable – The Social Media Guide
http://mashable.com

I thought that Mashable would be a good source of information for further developments with FarmVille and social networking in general. Mashable was founded in 2005 and is the largest blog focusing on Web 2.0 and social media news. The blog can be followed via RSS feed, which I found a useful feature. The “Google custom search” feature on the site made it easy to locate articles on FarmVille and Facebook, although I would still check the credibility of the individual author before quoting any of the articles.

6. Zynga Game Network
http://www.zynga.com/

I decided to use this website as my final source of information. After all, what could be more reputable than information coming straight from the source? This website has information about the company, and its founder, as well as sections for each of its games.
While the FarmVille link on the site takes you to the game itself (a Facebook login screen appears), on Zynga’s home page there is an update section, with details of press releases etc, and links to blogs about Farmville.zy

Mod 3.1 Writing Task: Narrating Personal Voice

2010-01-02T23:35:00.007+11:00

Why I chose FarmVille as my topic

When I first began this unit and I saw that we had to pick a topic of interest to write about, I must admit I panicked! It reminded me of when I attended a group job interview last year and we had to stand up, one at a time, and say something interesting or unique about ourselves. "What's so difficult about that?" I hear you say, well, I could not, for the life of me, think of anything interesting to say about myself! And the same thing happened with deciding on the topic subject. What could I write about? I don't really have any hobbies. As a full time student and working mum of four, my life seems to be taken up with work, family or study, and apart from reading the odd novel, shopping, going to the gym or watching TV, I don't have many other interests, and certainly none worth researching and writing about! Which got me thinking...what else do I do with my spare time? Then it hit me! I play FarmVille!

This made me reflect on why I play Farmville, when I'm not really into games at all.... While I am aware that games like World of Warcraft exist, and my children have PS2 and Nintendo DS, I never play any of these games. For some reason, once I started playing FarmVille, it became so addictive! Why was this so? This then became my idea for a research topic.

So how did my personal addiction start? I had been a member of Facebook for quite some time and hadn't succumbed to any of those annoying FarmVille neighbour and gift requests that kept popping up. But one particular day a few months ago, I was sick with the flu, and bored...so I decided to give FarmVille a go. I almost wish I hadn't because now hardly a day goes by without me checking on my farm at least once or twice a day! I even plan which crops I will grow around events happening in the "real world", for example at Christmas time I planted crops that took 3 or 4 days to grow so that I wouldn't have to visit my farm every day....sad isn't it? But then I suppose it's not as bad as Jil, a player in the Philippines who keeps his laptop next to his bed, and sets his alarm to go off every few hours during the night so that he can harvest his crops!

NET 34 - Personal Bio Task

2009-12-09T16:28:00.003+11:00

Who am I? My name is Sheila and I'm a mum of four, an ex-bank officer/retail manager/receptionist/real estate property manager/playgroup treasurer/administration officer and child care worker, amongst other things! If I were to sum up my life in a quote I would use the following words from John Lennon - "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". I actually planned to go to University 25 years ago, but life happened and here I am now - a "mature-aged" OUA student, working towards a Bachelor of Arts (Internet Communications) degree.

Net26 Mod 1: Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship

2009-09-06T22:50:00.003+10:00

boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html

Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship

URL: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html

I thought this extract describes SNS well:

What makes social network sites unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks. This can result in connections between individuals that would not otherwise be made, but that is often not the goal, and these meetings are frequently between "latent ties" (Haythornthwaite, 2005) who share some offline connection. On many of the large SNSs, participants are not necessarily "networking" or looking to meet new people; instead, they are primarily communicating with people who are already a part of their extended social network. To emphasize this articulated social network as a critical organizing feature of these sites, we label them "social network sites."

This article describes the history of SNS, and a timeline.

Net26 Mod 1: The Research Methods Knowledge Base

2009-09-06T17:10:00.004+10:00

URL: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/

Citation:
Trochim, William M. The Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2nd Edition. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/> (version current as of October 20, 2006).

This is a web based textbook that covers the topics in a typical introductory undergraduate course in social research methods. Covers the entire research process including: formulating research questions; sampling (probability and nonprobability); measurement (surveys, scaling, qualitative, unobtrusive); research design (experimental and quasi-experimental); data analysis; and, writing the research paper. Also addresses the major theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of research including: the idea of validity in research; reliability of measures; and ethics.

This looks like a very interesting site, and would be a good starting point to learn more about research methods. There is a table of contents which divides each section into "chapters". I found the site very easy to use, and is one I would definitely refer back to.

Net26 Module 1: Qualitative Analysis

2009-09-06T16:19:00.028+10:00

"Qualitative Research in Information Systems"

A useful article that describes what qualitative research is, and gives examples of the four types, and how it is used in Information Sytems. There are lots of references to the different types of studies.

URL: http://www.qual.auckland.ac.nz/

Editor: Michael D. Myers

Summary notes from the site:

Qualitative research involves the use of qualitative data, such as interviews, documents, and participant observation data, to understand and explain social phenomena.

"The motivation for doing qualitative research, as opposed to quantitative research, comes from the observation that, if there is one thing which distinguishes humans from the natural world, it is our ability to talk!"

Triangulation - when both methods are combined in the one study

Quantitative research methods were originally developed in the natural sciences to study natural phenomena.
Examples:

survey methods
laboratory experiments
formal methods (e.g. econometrics)
numerical methods such as mathematical modeling

Qualitative research methods were developed in the social sciences to enable researchers to study social and cultural phenomena.
Examples:

observation and participant observation (fieldwork)
interviews and questionnaires
documents and texts
researcher's impressions and reactions

Qualititive research

is designed to help researchers understand people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live.
may or may not be interpretive, depending upon the underlying philosophical assumptions of the researcher
can be positivist, interpretive, or critical

Positivist Research
- Assumes that reality is objectively given and can be described by measurable properties which are independent of the observer (researcher) and his or her instruments.

- generally attempt to test theory, in an attempt to increase the predictive understanding of phenomena.

Interpretive Research
- Researchers start out with the assumption that access to reality (given or socially constructed) is only through social constructions such as language, consciousness and shared meanings.

- does not predefine dependent and independent variables, but focuses on the full complexity of human sense making as the situation emerges (Kaplan and Maxwell, 1994).

Critical Research
- assumes that social reality is historically constituted and that it is produced and reproduced by people; although people can consciously act to change their social and economic circumstances, critical researchers recognize that their ability to do so is constrained by various forms of social, cultural and political domination.

- main task of critical research is seen as being one of social critique, whereby the restrictive and alienating conditions of the status quo are brought to light.

- focuses on the oppositions, conflicts and contradictions in contemporary society, and seeks to be emancipatory i.e. it should help to eliminate the causes of alienation and domination.

Qualitative Research Systems

Action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the goals of social science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework (Rapoport, 1970, p. 499).

Case study research - empirical inquiry that:
investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident (Yin 2002).

Ethnographic research comes from the discipline of social and cultural anthropology. Ethnographers immerse themselves in the lives of the people they study (Lewis 1985, p. 380) and seek to place the phenomena studied in their social and cultural context.

Grounded theory is a research method that seeks to develop theory that is grounded in data systematically gathered and analyzed. The major difference between grounded theory and other methods is its specific approach to theory development - grounded theory suggests that there should be a continuous interplay between data collection and analysis.

In anthropology and sociology it is a common practice to distinguish between primary and secondary sources of data. Primary sources are those data which are unpublished and which the researcher has gathered from the people or organization directly. Secondary sources refers to any materials (books, articles etc.) which have been previously published.

Modes of Analysis

Hermeneutics

The basic question in hermeneutics is: what is the meaning of this text? (Radnitzky 1970, p. 20). Taylor says that:
"Interpretation, in the sense relevant to hermeneutics, is an attempt to make clear, to make sense of an object of study. This object must, therefore, be a text, or a text-analogue, which in some way is confused, incomplete, cloudy, seemingly contradictory - in one way or another, unclear. The interpretation aims to bring to light an underlying coherence or sense" (Taylor 1976, p. 153).

Semiotics - concerned with the signs and symbols in language, "discourse analysis" is a form of this.

Narrative and Metaphor - Narrative is defined by the Concise Oxford English Dictionary as a "tale, story, recital of facts, especially story told in the first person." There are many kinds of narrative, from oral narrative through to historical narrative. Metaphor is the application of a name or descriptive term or phrase to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable (e.g. a window in Windows 95).

Writing up analysis - Myers recommends some books on writing up analysis as "good writing is important".

References - Myers provides a list of references & resources relating to Qualitative research in IS.

Reference:

Myers, M. D. "Qualitative Research in Information Systems," MIS Quarterly (21:2), June 1997, pp. 241-242. MISQ Discovery, archival version, June 1997, http://www.misq.org/discovery/MISQD_isworld/. MISQ Discovery, updated version, last modified: November 5, 2008 www.qual.auckland.ac.nz/a>

SP3 The Journey Continues....

2009-09-01T17:06:00.002+10:00

After a 3 month break from Blogging, I'm thinking of taking it up again from where I left off. When I last wrote at the end of SP1 I was just finishing Net11 (and SSK12). Now I have Net12 and Ned11 under my belt as well, and I'm just starting Net23 and Net26 in SP3. I found blogging a good way of recording my learning previously, and I often referred back to this blog to get details of articles I had saved, so I'm going to give it a try again.......

NET11: The End Of The Road! Reflection

2009-05-26T21:31:00.006+10:00

Well, I've come to the end of the road now with NET11. My Concepts Assignment was uploaded last week, I've finished studying all of the modules and have completed the tasks. All that remains now is to upload the URL of this blog to my tutors...

I have learnt so much in the past 12 weeks, and I can't believe how quickly the time has flown. Before starting NET11 I thought I knew a lot about the Internet, but each week, as I worked my way through the modules, I realised just how much I didn't know! And just how much I took the Internet at 'face value'....

It's certainly been an interesting journey, and one that I am looking forward to continuing in my next two subjects - NED11 and NET12. And now that I've discovered the 'blogosphere' I might even keep on blogging....

Picture Credit: www.ipic.org

Module 5 - THE FINAL TASK!

2009-05-26T00:01:00.004+10:00

MODULE 5 QUESTION REFLECTIONS

On the metaphor of an ‘ecology’, and does it impact on the way you think about, understand or use the Internet -

“We define an information ecology to be a system of people, practices, values, and technologies in a particular local environment. In information ecologies, the spotlight is not on technology, but on human activities that are served by technology.”
(Nardi & O’Day, 1999)
I liked this quote, and felt that this describes the Internet well. In the Concepts assignment I likened the Internet to a culture - one with its own language, practices and customs. But I hadn't thought of it in terms of an ecology before now.
Information ecology draws on the language of ecology, using terms such as habitat, growth, ecosystem, evolution to describe information systems, which of course the Internet is.

I don't know that thinking about the Internet in terms of an ecology would make me think any differently about it, or use it any differently. Maybe by being able to use the metaphor of an ecology does makes it easier to describe certain situations or concepts though.
On why we don't talk of a 'communication ecology':
We do talk of a 'communication ecology'! Just not as much as we do of information ecology. Out of interest, I did a search on the terms "communication ecology" and I found this article:

Biotechnology in the global communication ecology
".......Similarly, the Internet has become a more important
communication tool than classical methods such as TV advertising.
But unlike the days of Khair Beg, the new communication ecology is global in character,making it possible to spread information widely and generate empathy among a diversity of activist organizations, including those that are unlikely to be
affected by the technology. These cyber-communities are built around a complex set of mailing lists that are not easily accessible. Correcting misinformation spread through such channels is difficult to do because of the complexity of the networks."

The term "information ecology" is much more widely used and accepted.

REFERENCES
Biotechnology in the global communication ecology,. Calestous Juma.Source: Economic Perspectives 8 September 2003 EN
http://www.scidev.net/en/opinions/biotechnology-in-the-global-communication-ecology.html
Net11 Module 5 - Nardi & O'Day quote.

Module 4 - AA (Annotation Anxiety) & Reflection Tasks!

2009-05-25T23:04:00.011+10:00

The module 4 tasks had started out like this: "Choose your most commonly used internet search engine and do a search with words of your choosing". So anyway, I had decided to use the words "anxiety" and "disorder". The next tasks were all following on from this, so the same words were used. Then I get to this task:

"Next, choose your best 'source' or site from the three you saved....your source should be appropriate for your annotated sites in your Concept Reflection & Research Assessment if you haven't yet completed it. In any case, the source should be relevant to this unit."

So therein lied my problem! I had already completed the Concept Assessment, but I couldn't see how Anxiety Disorder was relevant to this unit....... (although I could argue that anxiety has played a part in my NET11 experience!).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I decided to do the search again, but this time with the words "internet" and "anxiety disorder". I did the search through Gecko, which came up with literally thousands of links. A lot of them were only abstracts, but I eventually found the title of the following article, which I was able to access through Google Scholar. I felt that 1) this site could be annotated and 2) it was relevant to this unit and 3) it was still related to my original search words!

TITLE: Remote Treatment of Panic Disorder: A Randomized Trial of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy Supplemented With Telephone Calls

AUTHOR: Per Carlbring, Ph.D., Susanna Bohman, M.Sc., Sara Brunt, M.Sc., Monica Buhrman, M.Sc., Bengt E. Westling, Ph.D., Lisa Ekselius, M.D., Ph.D., and Gerhard Andersson, Ph.D.

URL: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/163/12/2119

This site would be classed as a Reference site. I would think that it would be extremely reliable, as the site belongs to the American Journal of Psychology. The "about" page gave me the following information: the journal was rated 3rd out of 94 psychology journals, and was the number 1 cited journal, with over 38,000 citations per year. The actual article was submitted by the Department of Behavioural Sciences, Linkoping University; the Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; and the Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.

The article details the results of a 10 week study into the use of Internet based self-therapy for Panic Disorder sufferers. The study results supported the use of Internet distributed treatment, together with short weekly telephone calls, for panic disorder. The participants were set weekly homework, which was distributed by email.

The purpose of the article was to publish the results of the survey, and to share those results with subscribers of the journal.

REFLECTION
Compare your final analysis and annotation with the material you saved for the last task, and think about these questions.
in terms of your own future use, which 'body ' of information (ie. the original 'snapshot' of the site, or your own, annotated, analytical version) would be most useful to refer back to?
In term of external users (i.e. if you included this site as a hyperlink or resource on a website) which body of information would best help them judge if the site was useful or of interest to them?

It is difficult for me to compare the material I saved for the last task, as I had searched for different terms. But broadly, I will compare the two 'bodies of information', as a 'web page' and an 'annotation'. In terms of my future use, the annotated, analytical version would be more useful than a 'snapshot' of a site. While it may take a little longer to review a site, and make annotated notes, in the long run it would save time. The annotation provides all necessary details (url, references) for academic citing/referencing purposes, plus a summary of the site/article.

Where time is limited, or when initial research into a project/assignment is being done, then I think it is quite appropriate to bookmark a site, or to save a 'snapshot'.

For external users, then definitely an annotated, analytical version is the preferable body of information. The external user could read the annotation (which is really a summary of the article/site) and then decide if they need to read the article further. This would be preferable to having to read a whole webpage, or having to look for links on a page to find information.

REFERENCE
Carlbring, Per, Bohman, Susanna, Brunt, Sara, Buhrman, Monica, Westling, Bengt E., Ekselius, Lisa, Andersson, GerhardRemote Treatment of Panic Disorder: A Randomized Trial of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy Supplemented With Telephone CallsAm J Psychiatry 2006 163: 2119-2125

Module 4 Task – Organising Search Information

2009-05-25T20:49:00.004+10:00

First Site

URL: http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/2/3/346

Authors:

Elizabeth A. Hoge, Julia E. Oppenheimer, and Naomi M.
Simon
Focus, Summer 2004; 2: 346 - 359.
Institution: Psychiatry Online.com

Title: Generalized Axiety Disorder

This would be a good reference for academic research into Generalised Anxiety Disorder, but is definitely not for the ‘layman’, as it is very technical, with lots of medical and psychiatric terms.

Second Site

http://www.anxietyaustralia.com.au/

Author: Catherine Madigan

Institution: N/A

Blurb/ summary / screen shot:

This site provides helpful information in explaining Anxiety Disorders, as well as a search facility to locate a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Third Site

http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?link_id=90

Author:

Institution: Beyond Blue Organisation

Blurb/ summary / screen shot:

This site was a good starting point for finding out more about Anxiety Disorders, as information resources could be downloaded.
There is also an easy to understand overview of 'What is an Anxiety Disorder'.

Saving and storing this information
I'm afraid to say that although I have downloaded lots of programs since starting NET11, I found using Internet Explorer 'Favourites' to bookmark the pages was the easiest way for me to retrieve them. I then just captured a screen shot for each site and pasted this into a Word document, along with notes on the author, URL, etc. I then saved the document in my NET11 folder, calling it Module 4 Task. This made it easy for me to retrieve later. This worked pretty well, except that when I 'published' the document as a blog, the pictures were missing! So I just uploaded them individually into this blog. The pictures were all at the top of the post, but I was able to go into the Edit HTML screen, find the html for the picture, and then cut and paste it where I wanted it.

I have only recently purchased Office 2007. There is a really good program on it called One Note, and in future I think I will use this, as I can cut and paste screen shots, url's etc into that. I will look into bookmarking programs again too. Just at the moment I am more comfortable using the process that I am familiar with!

NET11: CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH & REFLECTION PROJECT

2009-05-19T22:28:00.015+10:00

Concept No. 9: Permanent ephemerality

"Advanced Internet users do not confuse the electronically generated 'ephemerality' of their communication with a real ephemerality: they take seriously the requirement to communicate with clear vision of the consequences of what they are doing." (Allen, n.d)

The emergence in recent years of social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and the various Blogging sites, has resulted, in my opinion, in a lot of inane nonsense being published on the internet. Do other people really need to know that you spent the evening cleaning vomit off of your carpet? (Facebook entry). Or that your favourite three words in the English language are “make porverty history” (Twitter entry – complete with spelling mistake!). How many people have been caught out lying to their employer about being sick on a work day because they have published details on their social networking site about actually spending their (sick) day off at the beach? The problem is, I think, that at the time of publishing these entries, the authors are not thinking of their words being around forever. With Twitter especially, using the phrase “What are you doing?”, it seems ephemeral, sort of like a throwaway line, something you don’t really think much about.

As a means of communication, the Internet is impersonal. Users are often alone in a room staring at a computer screen, often not knowing if who they are communicating with are who they say they are. I believe that the type of communication on ICQ and other chat sites like MSN and Yahoo is ephemeral, to a point. You type your message in, the other person types something back. Then when the session is closed, the words disappear. However, the effects of a negative chat experience can be long reaching. I remember years ago, when I first became connected to the Internet, I used to visit AOL chat rooms. There was one particular individual who used to say the most horrible things to people, using really vile, offensive language (I won’t repeat it here!). It was a shame because the other people in that particular chat room were friendly and interesting. Anyway, one day this individual made a particularly nasty comment about my mother. I was really upset by this, as I had only lost my mother to cancer a few months before. Although his words were “ephemeral” in that they were only on the screen for a few minutes until I turned it off, the upsetting effect those words had on me lasted for a long time (so much so that I still remember the incident, 7 years later).

Websites, by contrast, seem to be more permanent and long lasting rather than the seemingly temporary nature of internet communication, yet as Allen pointed out,

"Web ephemerality works in reverse – in that communication appears ephemeral,but is not, whereas websites may appear permanent, but in actual fact are ephemeral,because of their tendency to disappear or change." (Allen, n.d)

It is very frustrating to spend time researching on the Internet, only to find that the web page is years out of date, or the link to a required page no longer works. Thankfully there are some solutions to this – archive programs like the Wayback machine, Pandora and WebCite help to keep the web pages from disappearing into the ether of time.

ANNOTATED SITES

1. The Wayback Machine

URL: http://www.archive.org/about/about.php

The Wayback Machine allows Internet Users to browse through 85 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago. Keyword searching is not currently supported, so a user needs to know the exact name of the web page they are searching for.

I thought this site was a good idea; it is very frustrating to find that a page you want to view has disappeared. Also, from a historical point of view this site is useful, as there is a history of pages from 1996 until the present day. Sites like this one, and Pandora, an Australian archive site, help to avoid the ephemerality of websites.

2. Going, Going, Still There: Using the WebCite Service to Permanently Archive Cited Web Pages

URL: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1550686

WebCite is a member of the International Internet Preservation Consortium and is an on-demand archiving system for ‘web references’ – (web pages and web sites cited by scholars). WebCite, was created to overcome the problem of “link rot” (where pages disappear or become irrelevant over time). Authors of online documents and websites which are expected to be cited by others can ensure that their work is permanently available by creating an archived copy using WebCite and providing the citation information including the WebCite link on their Web document(s).

I thought that the whole concept of WebCite was a clever one, and helps to overcome the problem of the ephemerality of web pages.

15. Metaphors of use and communication differentiation

"Internet communication technologies draw for their appeal and legibility (i.e. how they can be understood) on metaphors and practices from non-internet communication. We use them, we understand them as versions of the latter, finding or creating differences between them that are not actually technically there since the net reduces all information flows to an identical format (with small variations) as it actually works." (Allen, n.d)

“The nature of the World Wide Web is unfamiliar to most people. In order to make sense of this foreign environment people describe the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar. Metaphors are often used for this purpose.” (Ratzen, 2000)

To understand the concept of metaphors within the context of the Internet, I find it is helpful to look at the Internet as a culture. Like any culture, the Internet has its own forms of communication, its own language. Metaphors and analogies form part of the internet language, which in turn assists Internet users in understanding internet concepts and practices. There have been various evaluations of the use of a metaphor in the realm of modeling computer systems. Madsen (cited in Palmquist, 1996) defined a good metaphor as having the following characteristics:

“… richness and applicability of structure, suitability of the metaphor and well understood literal meaning to an intended audience” (Madsen, 1994)

A popular internet metaphor is that of the ‘World Wide Web’ - a term originally used by Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau in 1990 to describe a hypertext information distribution system. Within the medium of the World Wide Web, there are external and internal metaphors. External metaphors are mainly words used to publicly define the purpose, function and integration of the Web as a communication device. Internal metaphors are visual metaphors which are used to structure the information that is actually on the computer. On the Internet Explorer toolbar for example, there is a little iconic picture of a house – this represents ‘home’, and by clicking on this image, the user then has options relating to the homepage.

Internet metaphors are often ‘dynamic’ words, in that they refer to a movement or travel – we “surf” the net, we travel along the “information superhighway”, our computer systems can be “invaded” by Trojan Horses, viruses and worms. (Jamet, 2002). Sometimes the meaning of a metaphor will change over time, for example ‘World Wide Web’ is now understood to mean ‘the internet’ by a large proportion of users, rather than by its original meaning.
Allen writes “… to understand something as new as the Internet, we need to imagine that it is similar.” In 2009, the internet may not regarded as “new” any longer, but metaphors do continue to play an important part in users understanding and operating within the internet culture. As Allen further describes it:

“Advanced users need to recognize the cultural significance of the metaphors, but at the same time realize that although the Internet is similar in some ways to other systems like telephones, libraries, mail etc, it has its own peculiar dynamics” (Allen, n.d)

Many Internet metaphors are used because the concepts they are describing or illustrating within the internet are similar in nature to those in the non-internet, or ‘real’ world. For example, the purpose behind sending an email is similar to that of sending a written letter (i.e. we are communicating in writing to another person); communicating on ICQ or other chat programs has a similar purpose to that of talking to somebody on a telephone; researching facts for a project by searching on the internet shares a similar concept to physically looking for a book in a library, so it makes sense to me that a lot of internet processes and practices use metaphors and analogies like mailing, libraries and telephone system terms to make it easier for users to understand.

ANNOTATIONS

1. Ratzan, Lee (2000) "Making sense of the Web: a metaphorical approach"

URL: http://InformationR.net/ir/6-1/paper85.html

This article included Preliminary results of the Internet Metaphor Project which showed that new internet users did require the use of metaphors to describe the Internet and the Web, but that this use decreased as a user’s skill level increased. There were also differences in the metaphors used by men and women, and by different age groups.

Also included was a good description of metaphors, and the theoretical categories they fit into. I found that the abstract statement was appropriate to use as an introductory quote. I thought that this was a credible source, because it is a research paper published by a university.

2. Palmquist Ruth A (1996) “The Search for an Internet Metaphor: A Comparison of Literatures”.

URL http://asis.org/annual-96/ElectronicProceedings/palmquist.html

This paper published the results of a study of Internet metaphors used in 100 articles from 1995. It includes a detailed and lengthy description of the term ‘metaphor’, including the characteristics of a ‘good metaphor’, which I included in my text. There were some interesting metaphors, a lot of them involving libraries. Palmquist concludes that in the future it will be essential to choose metaphors with care, to avoid promoting the internet as a “myth woven in fiber optic strands”.

I found this site useful, and used a quote by Madsen (and cited by Palmquist). I thought this cite would be credible because it is a university paper, presented at the ASIS annual conference in 1996

Concept No.23: Human-computer interfaces

"The Internet lessens the recognition of difference between humans and
computers because, at a distance, it is often feels similar to communicate and act on the Internet regardless of whether one is speaking with a human or a
machine." (Allen, n.d)

Allen also states

“the Internet was originally designed to enable humans to instruct computers to act at a distance. The Internet still has this capacity; thus, we begin to see the emergence of a cultural sensibility in which the hard and fast distinctions between humans and computers as different kinds of ‘communicating devices’ breaks down……Interacting with websites feels similarly impersonal or, more subtly, further indicates the extent to which humans readily accept the presence of machine-like ‘intelligence’ in their lives.” (Allen, n.d)

Allen mentioned the readiness of humans to accept a “machine like” intelligence in their lives, and I think that the growth of the internet, and internet based services is living proof of this. The majority of Internet users would now be just as comfortable (or for some people, more comfortable), communicating with a ‘machine’ (i.e. the computer), than a human. There is now no aspect of a human’s life where a computer or the internet would not be able to be involved. For children born this decade, it’s almost as though from the cradle to the grave, the internet is there. Once the child is born, the internet can be used for everything from buying baby clothes to equipment, to parenting advice, arranging childcare, then education. Every aspect of life and every major life event can then involve internet or computer interaction – education, health, shopping, dating, marriage, divorce, finance, insurance, sex – you name it, the Internet or computers are involved. Even death plays a part in the internet – if your relatives can’t come to your funeral, then they can watch a virtual funeral instead – your funeral service can be streamed directly to their computer!

If an individual is not happy with their own “real” life, they can even live a virtual, or second life instead, through second life communities. Here they can take on whatever persona they wish. This does have some positive aspects, for example a person with a physical disability that means they can’t walk in real life can have an opportunity to forget their disabilities and experience walking life through their second life avatars. Netherlands student Niels Schuddeboom describes his experience of second life -

"Perhaps the most profound difference I have experienced is that people have treated me differently" he said. "In real life, due to my wheelchair and lack of physical coordination, people often regard me as intellectually as well as physically disabled." (Cassidy, 2008)

Tim Thwaites wrote about the whole concept of people disappearing into an electronic world in an article titled “Bodies and Brains already merged with Computer Power.” (Thwaites, 2006). He also discusses the emergence of social networking sites, and the whole second life industry, where the income from the sale of characters and accessories used in the second life worlds already equal the economy of some countries. Thwaites also quotes American bioethicist James Hughes, who in an article on the future of human beings in the International Science news weekly New Scientist, suggested that within the next 50 years “our bodies and brains will be surrounded by and merged with computer power." This takes Allen’s concept of human’s accepting a “machine-like” intelligence in their lives to a whole new level. Thwaite concludes that “Perhaps before that happens we need to give some serious thought as to how best to integrate the human and electronic worlds”. At the moment, it is still humans controlling computers, but what if that situation was to change?

ANNOTATED SITES:

1. Bodies and Brains Already Merged with Computer Power – Tim Thwaites.

URL: http://search.informit.com.au.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/fullText;dn=306437252525522;res=IELHSS

This article was very interesting, and explained in an informative, yet easy to understand way about the effects of modern technology on every day life. He discusses the role of technology, and how the negative effects of the technological world are feeding back into the ‘real’ world. Thwaites also discusses the often bizarre world of internet gaming, especially role playing games.

I liked the quote at the end of the article, by the American bio-ethicist James Hughes and felt it fitted in with the point I was trying to make. I feel that the site is credible, because I found it via Curtin’s Gecko database. As I had never heard of Eureka Street though, I did a Google search and discovered it was a magazine published since 1991 and hit publishes commentaries on public affairs, arts and theology.

2. KARL FISCH’S “DID YOU KNOW” PRESENTATION

URL: http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/06/did-you-know-20.html

I saw Karl Fisch’s “Did You Know” presentation early on in NET11. I was so impressed that I wrote a blog entry about it. http://sheila-starterforten.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html

The part that really got me thinking was this:

“Predictions are that by the time children born in 2007 are 6 years old, a supercomputer’s computation capabilities will exceed that of the human brain…by
2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computing capabilities of the human
race.” (Fisch, 2007).

If this is true, and that in 2013 there will be a supercomputer that has computation capabilities exceeding that of the human brain, where does this leave the concept of human/computer interfaces? While ever the human brain’s capabilities exceed that of the computer, the human is still in control. But once it’s not? I don’t like to think about that!

Concept No. 28: The paradox of the World Wide Web

Advanced Internet users recognise the character of the Web, seek to utilise its advantages, ameliorate its deficiencies and understand that not all users have the same abilities as themselves in reconciling the paradox of the
WWW. (Allen, n.d)

What is ‘The Paradox of the World Wide Web’? – I used my Collins Paperback Dictionary and came up with the following definition: 'A global network of computer files containing contradictory elements'. The definition of WWW as a global network of computer files makes it sound very simple, yet it is anything but simple. And herein lies the paradox of the Web – on face value, it can be fun, easy to use and informative, but on a deeper level there are all sorts of problems lurking beneath the surface.

Turkle made the following comments in “Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet”:

“Computers don’t just do things for us, they do things to us, including to our ways of thinking about ourselves and other people…..People explicitly turn to
computers for experiences that they hope will change their ways of thinking or
will affect their social and emotional lives.” (Turkle, 1995)

Although written 14 years ago, I think these comments are still relevant in 2009. Computers, and in particular, the internet, are becoming an increasingly important part of our everyday lives, not just our social and emotional lives. A 2001 study on the effects of the Internet on everyday lives concluded that (after Internet connection)

…”people are not doing anything particularly new-they are doing old things in new ways and finding that some of those new ways suit their lifestyles better.”
(Anderson & Tracey, 2001)

Again, this still applies in 2009 - we are not really doing anything new, it’s just the way we are doing things have changed. We use social networking sites to keep in touch with our friends, instead of (or as well as) phoning or writing, we shop on the internet instead of in person, we use internet dating sites to meet new people. Our activities haven’t changed (communicating with friends, shopping), but the way we are doing them has.

But back to the Paradox of the World Wide Web – I started to think about areas in our lives where the internet has an influence, and the contradictions involved.

One of my colleagues is happily married to a Nigerian man; they met through an Internet site. Yet how many stories do we read about how innocent people have met potential partners from overseas through Internet sites, and then have been robbed of their life savings, because the person they ‘met’ on line isn’t all that they seem?

Another lady I know met her South American fiancé through Second Life and she speaks highly of this site. By contrast, a former acquaintance curses Second Life; her teenage son has racked up thousands of dollars in credit card debt through this site.

Buying goods on an Internet website and paying by credit card is an increasingly popular and convenient way of shopping. But how many stories do we then hear of people being ‘ripped off’ with bogus goods, or having their credit card details ‘stolen’ after using websites that turn out to be not all that they seem?

Kling (cited in Anderson & Tracey, 2001) argued (in the area of organizational information systems) that "technological change does not have a simple impact on a society". . This is true of the World Wide Web. But as long as users keep in mind the paradox of the World Wide Web, that it is not all that it seems, then the impact does not have to be a negative one.

ANNOTATED SITES

1. The Negative Impact of the Internet and Its Solutions
Ru Guangrong, Chinese Information Center for Defense Science and Technology

URL http://www.uscc.gov/researchpapers/2000_2003/pdfs/neg.pdf

This was a very interesting paper! While I examined the paradox of the World Wide Web, and the impact of the internet on our lives, I was looking at it from a personal/social level. This article outlines the negative impact of the internet on Chinese society. It looks at aspects such as Cultural & military invasion, and has sections on security = “..the Internet makes it easy to lose and leak secrets. Because cleared staff can freely send and receive electronic mail, voluntary leaking of secrets has become remarkably easy”

Regarding credibility - I was a little skeptical at first so I visited www.uscc.gov and found that the USCC is actually the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, created on October 30, 2000 by the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act. So I presume this is a credible source.

2. Digital Living: The Impact (or otherwise) on Everyday Living - Ben Anderson, Karina Tracey

URL: http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdlink?Ver=1&Exp=05-18-2014&FMT=7&DID=84500095&RQT=309&cfc=1

This was an interesting article. Although 8 years old now, a lot of the information was still relevant. It examines the impact of the Internet on the everyday lives of U.K. citizens. The study found that there is little significant change in people's time use that can be associated with their acquisition of an Internet connection. I found some of the interviewee’s comments interesting – since having the internet, one subject found they could watch Delia on the TV and then use the internet to download a recipe. I liked the comments about doing old things in new ways. It did make me realize how much has changed since 2001 – I wondered what a similar survey would find now.

Because this has been published in the American Behavioral Scientist, I thought it would be a credible source.

REFERENCE LIST

Allen, M (n.d) Curtin University of Technology, Perth

Available: http://lms.curtin.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_14736_1%26url%3d

Anderson, B & Tracey, K Digital living: The impact (or otherwise) of the Internet on everyday life. The American Behavioral Scientist. Thousand Oaks: Nov 2001. Vol. 45, Iss. 3; p. 456 (22 pages) Available: http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdlink?Ver=1&Exp=05-18-2014&FMT=7&DID=84500095&RQT=309&cfc=1

Cassidy, Margaret. Flying with Disability in Second Life [online]. Eureka Street; Volume 18, Issue 1; 10 Jan 2008; 22-24. Availability: ISSN: 1036-1758. [Cited 18 May 09]. http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=2787

Collins Paperback Dictionary & Thesaurus (2006) Harper Collins Publishers, Glasgow.

Fisch, Karl. 2007. Did You Know presentation [on-line] Availability: http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/06/did-you-know-20.html

Gunther Eysenbach, MD, MPH1 and Mathieu Trudel, 2005 Going, Going, Still There: Using the WebCite Service to Permanently Archive Cited Web Pages. Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, University of Toronto and University Health Network, Toronto Canada
Available: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1550686

Jamet, D. University Jean Moulin – Lyon France. LINGUIST List 13.35 8/1/2002 Qs: Internet Metaphors, "Labiodental r" Editor: Karen Milligan
Available at: http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/13/13-35.html

Palmquist Ruth A (1996) “The Search for an Internet Metaphor: A Comparison of Literatures”. Graduate School of Library and Information Science, The University of Texas Austin, Texas Available at http://asis.org/annual-96/ElectronicProceedings/palmquist.html

Ratzan, Lee (2000) "Making sense of the Web: a metaphorical approach". Information Research, 6(1)
Available at: http://InformationR.net/ir/6-1/paper85.html

Thwaites, Tim. Bodies and Brains Already Merged with Computer Power [online]. Eureka Street; Volume 16, Issue 18; 28 Nov 2006; 7-8. Availability: ISSN: 1036-1758. [Cited 18 May 09]. Available: http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=2019

Turkle, Sherry. 1995. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon & Schuster. Introduction: Identity in the age of the Internet, 9-26

Module 4 Tasks - Boolean revisited!

2009-05-12T22:09:00.005+10:00

I read the "Boolean Searching on the Internet" text as directed. I then tried my same keywords (anxiety disorder) to find:
- the biggest number of hits relating to those keywords

I used Google to do this, as I am most comfortable using this site. What I actually wanted to find was anxiety disorder symptoms. The biggest number of hits was when I searched anxiety OR disorder OR symptoms - this resulted in 173,000,000 hits! Other results were:

anxiety* = 49,100,000

anxiety AND disorder AND symptoms = 18,900,000

anxiety disorder = 11,700,000

anxiety NOT disorder 8,040,000

I'm not sure how well Boolean search terms work in Google, so I tried Windows Live as well.

anxiety OR disorder OR symptoms = 52,000,000

anxiety AND disorder AND symptoms = 21,400,000

anxiety disorder = 23,400,000

anxiety NOT disorder = 29,200,000

Using OR certainly increases the number of hits!

I tried to find out how to get information only from university sources. I had a look at GOLD and typed in anxiety disorder, but it only brought up seven results.

I then used copernic and searched "university databases" this brought up a long list of databases, but the ones I looked at required a student or staff id log in. I did use the Curtin Library database search, and the term 'anxiety disorder' brought back one result. I did do a search in Google Scholar, this resulted in 1,300,000 hits. This is something I am going to have to research further, but for now if I had to search information only coming from university sources, then I would use the Curtin database resource, or Murdoch university (as I am enrolled in a module there).

RECORDING INFORMATION

Last night I downloaded 'Web Copier', but I didn't like this program at all. For a start, the sample page I downloaded took over 4 minutes to save. A few weeks ago I did set up a 'delicious' account, but I haven't used it.

I have a bit of a system for saving information, and it works for me! I just save pages to "Favourites" in internet explorer. I have set up folders and sub folders and just save pages there. I often re-name the page so that I can recall it easily.

I recorded the different searches for the other task in this module by capturing the screen (Shift + Print Screen button) and then saving it in Paint. Another method of saving information that I use is to cut and paste sections of text that I require from a page into a word document. Again, I have a system of folders and I find this system works well for me at the moment.

I plan to use copernic to find everything! Apparently the search function in this program works well in searching on the computer as well as on the web. I am going to set aside some time over the next few days to try and find a bookmark program I am happy with. Another student on the discussion board mentioned that they use Endnote, so I'm in the process of downloading a 30 day free trial for that. The problem is time - not downloading time, but time in learning each new program!

Picture credit: www.greenfieldsuk.com

Module 4 Tasks - Web Search Tools

2009-05-11T23:26:00.012+10:00

1. Choose your most commonly used internet search engine and do a search with words of your choosing. Record the first hit and number of hits in your learning log.

Well, this was quite easy. My most commonly used internet search engine is Google (well, the only one - is there anything else?), so I chose the words 'anxiety disorders' and found that there were 13,700,000 hits, the first one was BeyondBlue.org.au.

2. Using copernicus or similar, set it up to search at least three search engines (including one that will search the 'deep web') and repeat exactly the same search. Record the number of hits in your learning log, and compare to your first search. What differences did you notice? Why? Which search, on first glance gave you the most promising results?

I had downloaded 'copernic" a few weeks ago in preparation for doing these tasks, but to be honest had no idea how to set it up to search three engines, or how to do a 'deep web' search, and as I was running out of time, I just did a 'search web' in copernic. This resulted in only 37 hits. I did notice that most of the top five had the words "found on Google" next to them, but interestingly, the sites were not in Googles top 5? The top hit in this search was http://www.panic-anxiety.com/. I then noticed that the next two entries were for the same organisation. The sites all seemed to be US ones, whereas in the Google search, the 'top hit' was an Australian site.

I did notice that Copernic had "advanced search preferences", and when I did the same search in this mode (I used the same words), there were even more results (50, rather than 37), and interestingly the first page of hits were all results found on Yahoo (rather than Google as in the standard search). The top hit in this mode was the wikipedia entry.

Anyway, as I hadn't been able to set Copernic up to search 3 engines, I decided to do some more searches, so I used Clusty (http://www.clusty.com/) - this resulted in 2,269,000 results. The top hit was adaa.org which is an American society for anxiety disorders, then another government site (nimh.gov) followed by a wikipedia entry.

I then decided to do another Google search, this time using Google Scholar. This resulted in 1,360,000 and the results were more 'academic', they seemed to be papers and research on anxiety disorders, rather than organisations.

Then I decided to do a Windows Live search. To be honest I hadn't heard of Windows Live before, but noticed it had come up in the Copernic search. Surprisingly, this had the most hits (I would have thought it would be Google), with an amazing 19,300,000. The top hit for this site was the Mayo clinic.

As to which site gave the most promising results? Well I would have to say Google. Mainly because the top hit was for BeyondBlue, which is an organisation I have heard about, and is Australian. However, in saying that, I would be tempted to use Copernic, because there were far fewer entries. I don't know that I would use Windows Live instead of Google, because although there were more hits, who on earth has time to look at over 19 million entries? ie what difference does it make if a search engine comes up with 13 million or 19 million entries?

I will still continue to use Google (and Google Scholar now that I know about it!). One thing I usually do (and didn't do this time) is go to Google Australia and search pages from Australia, to narrow the hits down to more relevant ones.

I was going to move on to the Boolean search task now, but as its almost midnight I'm going to leave that for tomorrow!

Web 2.0

2009-04-14T06:56:00.009+10:00

I had been a little confused over the whole idea of Web 2.0. Watching the YouTube video "The Machine is Us/ing us" helped clarify it for me, to some extent.

I think that prior to Web 2, internet users were just that, users, or end users of existing sites. But now we users are become the creators, we participate in creating on the internet rather than just using it. By blogging, we can "publish" our writing, YouTube allows us to "star" in our own videos with a world wide audience. Wikipedia is not just an on-line encylopedia - a user can edit entries rather than just read them!

On a personal level, I can see the difference between Web 1 and 2 when I compare 2 different sites, FriendsReuinted (the "old" site) and Facebook. I joined FriendsReunited back in 2001. It cost something like $20 to join, and you could find school friends by locating your school and then scrolling through lists for different years. Once you "found" a friend, you then sent a message to them through the site, and then waited for a reply. The only way a person could reply to your message was if they were a paid up subscriber too. There was an option to put a photo of yourself on there and a brief description but that was about it. It was essentially an online database.

Fast forward to 2009 and Facebook (a Web 2 application). Facebook allows me to search for acquaintances and then "invite" them to be friends. I can then chat online to them, send them everything from (virtual) flowers to football jerseys, keep everybody updated at the same time on what I am doing by posting on my wall (rather than having to rely on sending individual emails), post whole photo albums onto my site, invite friends to play games & quizzes etc etc, and above all, Facebook is free (well, so is FriendsReunited now, but it wasn't in 2001). There is infinitely more user content and participation involved.

All this has become possible since XML gave us the ability to separate form from content, something that HTML was not able to do. Does this make sense? It does to me (sort of...)!

In comparing the two Net 11 Resource lists, the furl list is much easier to read. I can also see that it is interactive, I have the option of filtering and sorting the topics for example. Underneath each article heading there is a description of the article, plus the url, the date it was saved, how many views it has had etc. There is an option of adding the articles to an RSS Feed. On the downside, the page also features advertisements.

The HTML list is just that, a list of links, with a brief description of the link. There is no date information, and no indication of how many times that particular link has been viewed. On the plus side, there are no ads...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had never heard of 'furling' before. But now I have, it is something I will definitely use in the future - except that I won't use Furl as its being phased out! I'm currently looking at Delicious. I am looking forward to putting all of my favourite links into one source (rather than being littered all through Favourites, like they are now!)

I just had a thought - what will Web 3.0 bring us?

P.S. I put that last bit in about Web 3.0 as a bit of a joke (I didn't even think there might actually be a web 3 yet). I then googled web 3.0 and found all sorts of entries......

Image credits http://grizzlymedia.wordpress.com clionauta.wordpress.com

On a (Blog) roll now!

2009-04-11T13:31:00.007+10:00

Log entry: In your learning log, record your thoughts. Consider various uses for blogs such as citizen journalism and personal blogging. Have you seen in your net travels any interesting uses for blogs? This blog entry is an opportunity to tell us what you really think of blogging!

Well, before I could answer this question I had to find out what Citizen Journalism was. I googled it and found this Wikipedia entry:

Citizen journalism (also known as "public", "participatory" or "democratic") is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information. Authors Bowman and Willis say: "The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires."

I also visited this site: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/09/your-guide-to-citizen-journalism270.html and went on to read that Citizen Journalists can use blogs to record events in their local community, or newsworthy events that haven't been picked up by the mainstream media. Also that the former "users" of the media are now the creators. It is good to think that we can all participate in journalism, but it begs a lot of questions. "Regular" journalism is bounded by laws, ethics, code of conduct etc - but what controls are there over Citizen Journalism? I think this is an area that we will hear a lot more about in the future.

The Blogosphere
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I'm very new to blogging. As this question asked about any interesting blogs we have found in our net travels, I decided to spend some time this morning researching blogs. Well it was interesting to say the least! To think that all this time I've had internet access and didn't realise what interesting blogs existed in the blogosphere! I googled random words with the word blog added to find out what there was (ie dog blog, diet blog, health blog).

Do you want to know the best place to take your dog for a walk (presuming you live in USA that is!), well then http://www.dogparkusa.com is for you!

Perhaps you've eaten too many choccies this Easter and want to lose a few kilos, well then there's www.diet-blog.com for some advice. Want to buy a new car? How about www.autoblog.com?

On a personal level, many years ago I did a creative writing course and used to write short stories. I joined an Isolated Writers Group and we used to mail our stories around from member to member for comment. If only the internet was around then! I could have just joined www.backhandstories.com and submitted my stories instead!

I then visited bloggerschoiceawards.com which was very interesting! I discovered some interesting blogs such as whywomenhatemen.blogspot.com (good for a laugh). There's even a blog written by a pigeon, yes a pigeon called Brian! http://pigeonblog.wordpress.com

The nastiest blog I read was "iwillf*****gtearyouapart.blogspot.com" In the entry I read, the author had published some nasty comments about stay at home mom bloggers.

Actually I did read a stay-at-home mum's blog yesterday. I can't remember the address but I think I found it on "blogs of note" in blogger. The lady was a farmers wife and she had entries describing how she visited the hairdresser that day, or who she had coffee with. One entry made me laugh - she described how her 9 yo daughter had called her father a "turd". It did make me think afterwards though - would her daughter like the fact that this has been published to a world wide audience?

I ended up reading blogs in the following categories: animals, business, celebrity, charity, corporate, education, entertainment, food, foreign language, geek, gossip, health, hobby, humour, marketing, parenting, photography, podcast, political, pop culutre, religion, shopping, sports, travel & video!

It is like there is a whole other world out there that I didn't know existed. An alternate world. I feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland at the moment!

I do enjoy blogging, for the purpose of this NET11 unit anyway. I don't know that I would be comfortable with a personal blog though. Maybe an anonymous one, or one with selected information would be ok. It would be a great way to share news with family overseas, but then again there is also Facebook for that. I am excited about the thought of maybe "publishing" short stories this way (when I have the time!). At last I will be able to realise one of my life-long ambitions, that of being a published author! I would never use a blog as a personal diary or journal - I think I would prefer to keep a handwritten journal for my most innermost thoughts! At least pages can be torn out of diaries!

I asked my 22yo son if he blogs, he uses Myspace and Facebook but not any blogging sites. Same with my 17yo daughter. A young relative travelled overseas recently and kept us all up to date with her travels through Facebook, so I suppose Facebook is really a form of blogging.

I asked my husband if he ever read blogs but he said he doesn't for the same reason he doesn't read (fiction) books. This made me reflect on the whole concept of blogs - how do we know what we are reading is true? I suppose it is with like everything else on the net, you need to keep an open mind and be aware of the pitfalls. Now I'm off to ponder Web 2!

And I thought Ajax was a cleaning product....Concept 28

2009-04-11T07:31:00.015+10:00

My mum used to use this product for cleaning the bathroom so when I came across this term in Module 3 that's what I immediately thought of! But apparently its a programming language used to create interactive web applications. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_(programming)

Everyone has head of the term "you learn something new every day", well in doing this subject I'm learning multiple things every day! For instance I thought "Delicious" was a Food magazine published by the ABC, but its actually (in internet terms) a bookmarking site...it looks quite useful so I've just signed up for it. How I came across it was after reading a fellow students post on "furling" in the Net11 Discussion board. I had never heard of furling before, and if I had to hazard a guess at the meaning of the word I would have thought of something similar to this:

- hurling, which is an irish hockey game! The funny thing is that a few days ago I was adding yet another webpage to my favourites list and I thought that it was a shame that there wasn't a system of saving all favourite pages in one place so that they could be easily recalled - I'd just signed up for google reader which has made my life oh so much easier in keeping up to date with my fellow students blogs! And it turns out that there is - Furl. Furl is about to be phased out though so delicious seemed a better option.

In this post I have used some of the html techniques I learnt this week. For example, when I imported the hurling picture, it kept appearing at the top of this page, and I couldn't move it. So I went into the "edit html" screen and found the section that had the img tag, then cut and pasted it where I wanted it to appear in my post! Success! I just had another look at the "edit Html" screen and while I recognised a lot of the commands as html, I could also spot the blogger codes - something I learnt about in a blog recommended by a fellow student Renee. I'm learning so much from reading my fellow students blogs!

My thoughts keep coming back to Concept 28 and the 'paradox of the world wide web'. On the surface, the internet seems so simple. Even my 10 year old daughter can use the internet quite competently to do what she needs to do. Yet underneath it is so complex, there is so much more to it, so much "behind the scenes". We hear the term WYSIWYG - but I never would have thought before about how much effort goes into this. For example, writing this blog on blogger is simple enough, and essentially what I type into this "compose" screen is what appears in the post. But someone has had to initially design the site, invent all the codes, do all of the myriad of tasks to make this all possible, and then there is the hosting side of it.... it is mind boggling sometimes!

Picture credits: www.magpies.net/nick/bb/files/hurling1.jpg - hurling picture

signaturesterling.files.wordpress.com/2008/01 - ajax picture

ebay.com.au - delicious magazine pic

Module 3 Tasks - HTML

2009-04-08T01:02:00.003+10:00

Log entry: Once you have completed the lessons, you should have a page with all the basic elements needed in a web page - save it as 'index.html', open it in your browser and take a screenshot and post it in your blog. - SEE ABOVE!

LOG ENTRY:Record any difficulties you encountered with these exercises. Record your thoughts about html - do you feel a sense of achievement? What are the differences between html and blogging? what do you like best?

...Well, much to my great surprise I was actually able to create a web page! I certainly did feel a sense of achievement. When I first read the task I was dreading it - I knew absolutely nothing at all about HTML so how on earth was I going to create a web page??? It did take me quite a while though - here it is, almost 1.30am, and I started the lesson at 9pm. It took me a while to go through all 26 lessons, and then I decided to have a go and create my own page. I found HTML relatively easy to use, although I wish I had made a note of the various codes when I was doing the lessons - I had to keep going back to the lessons to find out how to centre, or change the font size etc when I was creating my page. It became quite addictive in the end! Once I had started I wanted to keep going until it was done.

What are the differences between HTML and Blogging - well blogging is much easier for a start! I can just type away, make a few changes to the layout or text style and sizes by just clicking with my mouse - with HTML it takes a lot longer, and can be frustrating if you forget to put in a > or a / in the right place! On the positive side though, I can see that there is far greater control with HTML - you are not limited to any particular colour, style or font size as you can be on blogging sites.

As to what I like best? Well at the moment I would have to say blogging, because it is so much easier. But I would like to think that as HTML becomes more familiar (and I have more idea of what I'm doing!) then I will prefer HTML because it will give me greater control over my designs.

What I did find through doing these lessons was that lrfanView is a fantastic site! I had managed to save my screen and then open it in paint, but could not work out how to re-size it. It was so easy to do in lrfanView and I am looking forward to using this program more.

I also have a great book "Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML" and I am looking forward to going through it when I have more time.

Anyway, as its now 1.40am I'm calling it a night!

Module 2 Tasks - REFLECTIONS ON ICQ CHATS

2009-03-31T21:46:00.008+11:00

Well I'm working my way through the Module 2 tasks and was finally able to do the ICQ chat task. I had been a bit worried because after reading all of the posts on the discussion board it seemed as though just about all of my fellow NET11 students had already done this task...weeks ago in some cases!

I did read a post from Joanne though in the Yahoo group list, and it turned out she hadn't done the chat either, so we arranged to chat at 8.30pm tonight. All well and good, except for one thing - I had no idea what ICQ was! So between 5.30 and 6pm tonight, and at the same time as cooking dinner for my hungry tribe, I did a bit of research into ICQ and managed to download it and then register an id. Fantastic! I now had an ICQ number! (its 395933282). While I was playing around with it I found that Renee was on line and so we had a chat. Bingo! My task was complete - I had a chat to record in my log!

Later on in the evening Joanne contacted me for our chat. I found it a very positive experience being able to chat with a fellow student, I didn't feel so alone!

I am finding ICQ easy to use....its hard for me to compare it to other chatting programs because I am pretty much a novice at this! I've had a couple of chats on Facebook chat and thats about it. I think I used Yahoo chat years ago, when we first got our computer, but the continual pop-up messages used to annoy me.

At the time of typing this I'm just having another ICQ chat with hurlyburly and Ernest. Well I'm actually having two conversations, because I can't work out how to talk to two people at once, other than having one open in each window! I can see there is still so much to learn about ICQ....

Overall, I enjoyed my chatting experience. The problem I encountered was as mentioned above, I couldn't work out how to have a 3 way conversation. Other than that, I suppose the main problem is the lag, ie you will be typing a reply to a previous question, and then the person you are 'talking' to might start typing about something else, so it can get hard to follow at times.

There are definitely benefits to chat though, especially in comparison to say emails or discussion boards. It is good being able to have a "live" chat, rather than posting a question on a board and waiting for a reply, or sending an email and awaiting replies.