KCB201

Electronic v. Paper

2006-05-30T09:18:00.000+10:00

“If I don’t write to empty my mind, I go mad” – Lord Byron

For me (and I’m sure for many others) this quote rings true. I believe that Lord Byron’s words highlight a major reason for the popularity of both paper and electronic journals. Personally, I have always preferred the traditional format however this subject has opened my eyes to the mass potential of online journals or ‘blogs’. If you had asked me six months ago to share my journal online I would have (politely) told you to f*** off. Six months later I’m contributing to my blog at least once a week and hoping that classmates comment on my latest entry.

When we were first asked to keep a blog for this subject I was (admittedly) apprehensive. As one of my first entries recounts, I barely knew what a blog was let alone how to keep one. Little by little, week by week I have gained confidence with the medium. I am actually starting to become attached to it. For me, blogging will never fully replace my paper journal (there is something therapeutic about putting a pen to paper and being able to physically hold your thoughts in your hand), but I do see the advantages of electronic journals.

Firstly, blogging is popular. It’s (relatively) new, exciting and everyone who is anyone keeps a blog daaaahling. Part of its popularity lies in the fact that it is public. Once you post to your blog anyone with Internet access can read it. Blogs allow everyone to have their thoughts, ideas, opinions and work published. I believe this element is fundamentally what attracts people to blogging. Who wouldn’t want their work published? This pervasiveness, however, can also lead to reduced credibility of the medium. Unlike published paper-journals where the author’s history, credentials and information is authenticated, the anonymity of blogging means that anyone can write anything, at any time. It doesn’t have to be verifiable to be published.

Another element of blogging that separates it from the traditional paper format is its ability for (and reliance on) two-way communication. Not only does this challenge traditional mass media but it allows for greater customization. The interactivity and feedback from readers means that bloggers can gauge what is popular amongst their audience and redirect their blogs accordingly. Throughout my bachelors degree I have been told time and time again that customisation is the future. Weblogs are just another example of where the future of media is heading.

Now, back to my blog. I’ve already accepted that it is not as ‘pretty’ as many of my classmates’ blogs but I’m proud of my first-time attempt. Sure it may never replace my paper journal but I do see the value in it. Like Lord Byron, I will always need to write to “empty my mind”. Blogging is just another way for me to prevent (or at least delay) my insanity.

I hope you have enjoyed reading KCB201. Thank you, once again, for visiting.

KCB201 Blogs

2006-05-23T15:36:00.000+10:00

So I visited a few of my classmates’ blogs today… WOW! We have some really talented and switched on people in this unit. I kind of feel like my blog’s juvenile and inadequate in comparison.

Maybe instead of playing dress-up with my sisters as a child I should have been playing computer games. Or perhaps instead of reading books I should have read online journals and blogs.

The reality is I didn’t get the Internet in my house until I was halfway through highschool. On top of that, I only upgraded to broadband from dial-up a couple of months ago. As you can see I’m a little behind the times when it comes to technology.

For me this subject has really highlighted the fact that my techno-literacy levels are equivalent to those of a person twice my age. By that I mean, pretty poor. What’s worse is that I know people twice my age who have more computer knowledge then me!

I guess the purpose of this self-indulgent pity entry is to justify why my blog is so woeful. Despite my lack of technical know-how I hope people are still getting something out of my blog. It may not be pretty but as my mum always said, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Enjoy.

Revisiting Participatory Cultures

2006-05-21T17:39:00.000+10:00

In preparation for the tutorial chat sessions on Friday, I re-read John’s article on Auran and Trainz. I guess you could say I had a slight change of heart…

When I wrote my last entry on this topic (Collaboration v. Exploitation) I must have been channelling my inner socialist by attempting to protect interests of the masses (A.K.A. fan communities). In retrospect, I should have channelled my inner business student.

I guess what I am trying to say (in my longwinded fashion) is that maybe media producers like Auran aren’t exploiting their fans after all. Perhaps they’re just being smart businesses.

Throughout my business studies I have been told time and time again to: know your target market. I see now that Auran was not trying to abuse its loyal fans but was simply trying to paint a better picture of its target market. The company wanted to discover what its consumers really wanted from Trainz.

The best way to achieve this was by allowing Trainz fans be a part of the production process. It was a win-win situation. Auran made a better product and the fan communities felt they played an integral part in its creation. Not only had the media producer satisfied its target market’s needs but the consumers themselves had created an everlasting bond with the product.

My point is that as we move towards becoming an increasingly interconnected yet individualised society, things have to change. People (and businesses alike) must adapt to this new environment. If adaptation comes in the form of the Trainz business model, then so be it.

To parody that other (slightly more famous) socialist: Viva la Evolution!

Internet Troubles

2006-05-15T12:58:00.000+10:00

For the past week I have been experiencing problems with my Internet connection. Sometimes it’ll work for me, often it won’t. On the rare occasion that I do get connected it is so frustratingly slow that I want to throw my computer out the window altogether. Maybe I’m being melodramatic but anyone who has ever experienced a temperamental Internet connection knows how I feel.

On Wednesday night John mentioned how lucky we are to have the ability to access the Internet at all. It made me feel a little guilty. Here I am moaning about a slow connection when thousands of people around the world will never touch a computer, let alone access the Internet. And then there are the people who could access the Internet yet don’t have the skills or know-how. I really am very lucky.

Subsequently, I made a promise to never take my Internet access for granted again. Since then, I have been whispering sweet nothings to my modem… Has it worked? Well, let’s just say my Internet connection is faster than ever!

Online Community - Rate Your Music

2006-05-10T08:17:00.000+10:00

Rate Your Music is a non-commercial online community dedicated to music. This community encourages its members to share music knowledge, repertoires and opinions by rating albums, writing reviews and contributing to a variety of music related forums.

Rate Your Music has members from right across the world, the most common countries being: USA, UK, Canada, Australia and Brazil. These members are self confessed ‘music addicts’ who come to this site to share knowledge, learn from others and make friends with people who have similar music tastes. As membership is free, most members return to Rate Your Music regularly to read the latest album reviews and to meet up with friends in the forums.

Although Rate Your Music does not generate profits from membership fees or advertising, it can still be classified as a successful online community. As at 3 May 2006, there were 40716 members, traffic averaged 14817/week and reach/million averaged 105/week.

One problem with Rate Your Music is that it relies completely on volunteers to moderate the site. Although volunteers do not cost any money, they are not always willing to dedicate substantial time and effort to the community. Without the continued support of volunteers, the site could not operate. To counter this, Rate Your Music regularly asks users to donate money, time or skills to site operation.

I chose to join Rate Your Music to learn more about my favourite bands and to share my (somewhat limited) musical knowledge. Since joining, I have catalogued and rated my music, reviewed some of my favourite albums and entered into forum discussions. I enjoy this community as it allows me to interact with people who have similar tastes and to share my musical opinions. Oh, and it is free!

Copyright

2006-05-05T18:45:00.000+10:00

Copyright is a necessary evil. Without it, others can reproduce your work as their own, denying you credit and compensation. With it, the fundamental principles upon which the internet was developed (i.e. global information sharing) are greatly reduced or removed altogether.

As society moves towards greater dependence on the internet, copyright is becoming obsolete. For every new copyright law passed, someone comes up with at least 10 ways to get around it. For every copyright law enforced upon an individual, thousands upon thousands of others continue to breach it.

One begins to wonder if we need to restructure the system altogether. Perhaps we need to stop applying archaic, real world copyright law to the virtual realm and instead implement an emergent internet law protecting intellectual property, but, not prohibiting its use. In the same vein as “netiquette” for online communities, maybe there should be “netiquette” for the use, reproduction and distribution of intellectual property.

Collaboration v. Exploitation

2006-04-29T07:27:00.000+10:00

Wednesday night’s lecture from John Banks was about the evolution of the relationship between media producers and fans from conventional (or conflicting) to collaborative. John argued that “Non-market Peer Production” or “Decentralised Collaborative Networks” are increasingly important to the commercial success of online media (such as gaming).

As John spoke about his experience with Brisbane-based games developer Auran and their simulation game Trainz, I couldn’t help but ask myself: How can people offer their skills without any financial reward? Is it right that Auran uses their fans product to make a profit? Is this really collaboration or just exploitation?

Although Auran is arguably an ‘equitable’ media producer, they ARE still a business and their goal IS to make a profit. Where do you draw the line between willing participation and cheap labour?

John mentioned that media producers are beginning to warm to the idea of “Decentralised Collaborative Networks” as a means of lowering production costs. As this grows in popularity, will large multinational corporations abuse their power and turn dedicated fan communities into online sweatshops?

These are questions I cannot answer myself but, maybe you can. Let me know what you think…

Fandemonium

2006-04-21T07:45:00.000+10:00

I can honestly say that my friend Matty* is the biggest The Office fan I have ever met. And no, I’m not talking about the poor American remake but the original BBC sitcom created by Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant. He has both seasons and the Christmas specials, he can tell you anything you need to know about ‘Wernham Hogg’ (the fictional business The Office was set in), he has memorised entire songs sung by ‘David Brent’ (Regional manager of the Slough office of ‘Wernham Hogg’ and main character of the series) and he (unapologetically) quoted ‘Brent’ during his 21st speech. For me, Matty* encapsulates the term 'Fandemonium’.

But, it does not end there… His latest obsession is Scrubs (the NBC comedy set in a hospital). He currently owns 4 seasons and is waiting (not so) patiently for the 5th to air on Australian television. He can quote his favourite character 'Dr Cox' word for word oh and, I almost forgot, he owns the soundtrack.

To most people, Matty* would seem geeky. If I didn’t know him I would probably imagine him as an awkward, anti-social, unfit, overweight 21 year old male who spent most of his time in front of the computer or television.

I would be completely wrong…

Sure Matty* is a 21 year old male but he is far from the anti-social stereotype I just described. He is a Business student at QUT, he has friends, he goes out every weekend, he has a girlfriend (who is also a local model) and he is an avid rugby player (who travelled to South Africa in 2004 as part of the Under 20’s Australian rugby union team). Most guys I know are envious of Matty’s* situation.

When John discussed the erroneous nature of stereotyping in his lecture it really hit home for me. Sure Matty* encompasses everything a ‘fan’ is except, he doesn’t fit the image. In fact, he’s relatively normal.

Anyhow, the whole thing really got me thinking. Perhaps ‘Fandemonium’ isn’t as eccentric as we would like to believe. Perhaps there is a hidden ‘fan’ in all of us. If you’ve ever really liked something, I mean looooved it (whether it is a book, movie, band or computer game), you’re already halfway there.

Over the Christmas holidays I watched 5 seasons of The Sopranos consecutively. It got to the point where if I didn’t get my daily dose of ‘Tony’ and the gang I felt cheated. My day was not complete. Do I consider myself a crazed fan? Hell no! But perhaps (secretly) I am.

Maybe it’s not ‘Fandemonium’ that’s the problem. Maybe it’s socialisation.

Now I’ll leave you with a random quote from ‘David Brent’, “Quitters never win, winners never quit. But those who never win and never quit are idiots”

* Name has been changed to protect person’s identity (and to protect me from being seriously hurt by said person)

MMOGs

2006-04-06T11:40:00.000+10:00

Last night’s lecture was delivered by Sal Humphreys. Her topic: The law and ethics of MMOGs.

In her lecture, Sal introduced us to the MMOG EverQuest and to a few colourful participants of her extensive research. She went on to dismiss the stereotype of gamers, highlight the sociability of the medium and encourage us to question ownership and control of MMOG product.

In my opinion, MMOGs are a form of escapism. Gamers use the medium to ‘become’ someone (or something) in the virtual realm they cannot be in the physical realm. Sal briefly touched on this theory when she mentioned her physically disabled friend who was an adept guild leader in EverQuest yet could not tie her own shoelaces.

For most users, this form of escapism is harmless and often beneficial. For others, it can be devastating. The danger of MMOGs lies in addiction (i.e. Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD).

Unfortunately, as Sal discussed in her lecture, multinational publishers of MMOGs rely on this addiction for success. The publishers increasingly produce games that are more complex, require more commitment and greater social networking. The gamer must devote a significant amount of time to that particular MMOG to be victorious. As a result, his or her ‘real’ life suffers.

A real question of ethics (I believe) lies in whether or not the multinational publisher should take responsibility for contributing to IAD. Should they be obliged to act socially responsible?

For more on IAD see:
http://library.albany.edu/briggs/addiction.html
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=257132005

Blogging

2006-04-05T16:16:00.000+10:00

This is my first attempt at keeping a Blog. Before KCB201 I could not even categorically define what a Blog was. My definition: people use it to communicate over the Internet? I had no concept of its pervasiveness. Nor of its mass appeal. All things considered, I was techno-illiterate. Arguably I still am (despite my belated entrance into the blogosphere).

Understandably, KCB201 was a rude awakening for me. While I grappled with the term ‘Blog’, my classmates were already designing online communities. After my very first introduction to the world of online-gaming my lecturer divulged that he can spend 40+ hours a week playing World of Warcraft. And I’m supposed to be part of the online generation.

Despite my ignorance, however, I have been thoroughly enjoying this unit. Before the first lecture even began I knew that I could approach this subject in one of two ways. I could either:

1) maintain the mindset that the virtual world is foreign to me and therefore impenetrable.

Or

2) learn about it.

I chose the latter.

It’s going to be a long and arduous semester but I know I’ll be better for it. And hey, if you ask me to define ‘Blog’ at the end of the unit and I might just be able to do it…

Welcome to my blog

2006-03-31T13:42:00.000+10:00

This blog is dedicated to the discussion and analysis of topics covered in KCB201 - Virtual Cultures.

I invite you to read my posts, leave comments, correct me (if I'm wrong) and, above all, enjoy!

Thank you for visiting.

Come again soon.