This does not compute...

The funny thing about technology is that it intensifies quickly. One hundred and twenty years ago the lightbulb was just emerging into commercialized use but I have to think of how many thousands of years before that there was no basis for the lightbulb joke. Now there is a new lightbulb that is better, faster, cheaper. One of my fond memories is of a computer game I played in late 1980’s. My dad had computers before then, but I think it was around that time that DOS computer games were becoming more popular. I was pretty much the same geek then that i am now and I had bet my dad that if he tried to hide the game in some random directory file that I could find it within an allotted amount of time. He owed me fifty cents.

If you asked me today to do what I did then, I’d have no clue where to even start. My point is that I’ve never lived without technology. Remembering that I used to know more about computers and how to write html makes me sympathize with old people who can’t use a remote.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy. It’s been many years since I’ve actually watched the film, but I know that basic plot is that some dude in some remote land finds a classic glass coke bottle and brings it back to his tribe. The tribe uses the bottle for various purposes that seem to make their life easier. This simple glass bottle was technology for them, but in the process of trying to make use of it, this otherwise peaceful tribe encounters conflicts within their group.

In some aspects, the Coke bottle fits the Instrumental theory of technology:

• technology is neutral, just a tool
• technology has no social agenda
• technology is indifferent to politics
• technology is rational and verifiable
  
• technology is efficient--it has standards and norms
• technology is transferable to other cultures
• values can be accommodated by technology but at costs to efficiency
• (http://wiki.wsu.edu/wsuwiki/Instrumental_Theory)

But there is one line in there that I am having problems with:

technology is transferable to other cultures.

I am okay with technology being an inanimate object. As far as I am aware, nobody has ever created real-life Hal. Therefore, I am okay with values being accommodated by technology, but if you throw a Coke bottle or a computer and CD-Rom out of the window of a light airplane onto some unsuspecting tribe who has never seen these things before, you’re going to end up with some ramifications. Okay, so maybe the ramifications aren’t severe and will work themselves out, but I’m just saying…

Neutrality is one of the key concepts in the instrumental theory and it points out that technology is just a tool, that this inanimate object is not scheming to destroy the world. But let’s go back to the “Gods.” What if that tool is not used how it was meant to be used? I’m sure the tribe used the bottle to carry water, but what if they used at as a club and beat someone over the head with it? The bottle is still neutral, it’s still a tool, so then we have to look to the substantive theory of technology.

“According to Andrew Feenberg, a substantive theory of technology assumes that a technology's design will fundamentally change the ways in which an organization (or a culture) operates. Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan take a substantive approach to television, for example, by asserting that the design of the medium changes that way American culture operates. (See Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death,” for example.)”

http://endora.wide.msu.edu/1.1/owls/blythe/owl9ac.html

This blurb goes on to say that the substantive theory pretty much blames the technology and not the user (maybe the author was reading Donald Norman’s “The Design of Everyday Things”)? Hey, the bottle looked like it would do some damage, so I thought I’d give it a shot? But I regress….
Yet the Coke bottle can fit within the Substantive theory:

• technology is not neutral, it is not just a tool
• technology is autonomous--it exists beyond culture
• people are the raw materials--the standing reserve--of a technical system
• technology becomes the environment
• people can make choices about technology
• http://wiki.wsu.edu/wsuwiki/Substantive_Theory

The last two points on this list make sense to me, but only in conjunction with the instrumental theory. If the technology is very useful, then people are going to want to use it everyday and it will then become part of their environment. MS DOS? Not so useful anymore but when it was useful to amuse me, it was very much part of my environment. Same goes for writing html. When I first started to learn it, I thought, hey cool, I can design a webpage by typing in junk. Push-Button publishing came along at a good time because there was no room left in my head for .

I make choices about the technology I use. I put off getting access to the internet in my home for a year and I don’t subscribe to cable. I didn't have a need for internet before and i don't watch that much t.v. But when i decided to subscribe to the internet, the jerk at Comcast and I ended up arguing about how stupid it would be for me to pay for a bundled service when I only had use for one of the technologies. I don’t think Comcast has gotten the memo from FCC yet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_DSL#United_States) But I regress…

As with transformations in medical and other scientific technology, the uses for media technology can be good or bad, but it is not the technology itself, it is the values within the person that commands it that make it so. To the best of my knowledge, the whole concept of modernity refers to how we can progress towards the future which entails leaving “tradition for tradition’s sake” behind. I don’t find this to mean that we have to leave intrinsic values and ethics behind too. Feenberg argues “current scientific and technical knowledge has resources for a very radical reconstruction of the technological heritage if these are appropriated in the right spirit.” I agree.

My self-designed indulgence.

"Space is emptiness"





I feel the need to fill it........





I also am perfectly content sitting here in silence...



But wait! There's more!

http://www.myspace.com/hannahstar

(myspace.com is pretty low on the usability hardness index, so i'll leave you to figure it out.)

Did you know:
Designing a website is so easy the government can do it?
check out http://www.usability.gov/

I bought myself a book, but i've been too busy to even crack the spine

Media Unlimited, Revised Edition:
How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms Our Lives

By Todd Gitlin

Is there any white space left or did we fill it all up?

I Like Jokes

It was the year 2012 and the world best renowned blogger had to go one way or the other, just like everyone else on the globe. She got to the gates and followed the directions to the place where she was going to spend the rest of her eternity. The path she was told to follow took her down echoing marble-floored halls whose walls were painted with stunning murals and crumbled wads of paper hanging from the ceiling like clouds. Colored pencils and pens in every shade of blue and black inks seemingly suspended in air swayed in the breeze she made as she drifted through the corridors.
After peeking through open doors into countless other rooms ornamented in her favorite artistic styles, she finally reached a room that would be hers. The gold-gilded plaque on the heavy mahogany door read: “hannah’s brave new (media) world.” Expecting all the comforts of her previous life in the age of information and technology, she expected more than she could possible conceive. Still, she hoped no less than her eternity to be the predictably comfortable way of life to which she was accustomed.
Instead, there was only a lone silhouette behind a cold metal desk. As she presented her person in exile papers to him she asked, “What do you call the palace beyond this door that is more then I could ever dream and do I have the keys to access all of those rooms filled with culture and ideas of my wildest imagination?”
The figure shook his head slowly and replied that the only set of keys to the palace would go with him when he left.
“This will be your desk and all the tools that you are allowed to create and communicate with are prearranged to be delivered on Tuesday of next week. Here is the list of things you are selected for you, but now I must leave,” he said as he handed her a slip of paper.
The listed items were:
1 typewriter and a ditto machine.
That is all.

[ Translate This Page ]

Before I read “English Next,” I had not given much thought to the globalization of the English Language. Of course, I was aware that it is wide spread in its use around the world and its role in globalization but still am not entirely conscious of the cultural, economical and ethical issues it can bring. Hopefully, tomorrows lecture will help me understand the effects of the worldwide use of English.
In reading the section of the reading on technology and English, it seems that there was a trend in the international news media being dominated by the English language, but in the past decade has shifted toward other languages having representation in the world news media. However, while Latin America has a news channel rival to CNN and BBC broadcasts in Arabic, there are many news sources that had only once broadcast in a native language that now also have outlets in English.


“English Next” points out that English and the Internet also have a strong association, but again in the past decade the percentage of sites in English have decreased (85% in 1998 compared with 32% in 2005). It seems at first glance that the percentage of sites in each language shown may be in correlation to the percentage of the population percentage that speaks a particular language. But as the authors note, “the dominance of English on the internet has probably been overestimated. What began as an anglophone phenomenon has rapidly become a multilingual affair” (pg 45). This “multilingual affair” is especially apparent in global companies that have one site where the user can specify their preferred language in which they view the content. While the authors remarked that commerce sites, such as E-bay and Amazon, have their own national cites, I think is also fair to notice that the larger social networking sites (myspace, facebook) and media sharing sites also have their own national networks (although this is not to say that only native-language speakers stick to their own sites).


Many browsers also have the option to “translate this page” and while the translations are probably spotty at best, I would be surprised if this technology improves. As a monolingual speaker of English I would very much like if “translate this page” improves because I would probably then gather more information from global sources and then be able to grasp a better perception of how different cultures view each other. “English Next” mentions Global Voices, a site that “aggregates data from blogs to supply journalists with an alternative news feeds.”


I don’t necessarily think that global English as the “lingua franca” is a horrible thing even though the way in which it emerged as such carried social and cultural implications. Consequently, the model of English as Lingua Franca is a valuable model in which to recognize the non-native speakers’ role in using Global English while retaining national identity but has the advantage over the monolingual individual. I found it interesting that countries like Chile, Taiwan, and South Korea are planning on making English as their official second language do not look toward the UK or US as their model, but other non-English speaking countries that are now using English as a second language (pg 89).
Many places around Chicago have bilingual services in several different languages and although it probably has a lot to do with commerce, I think that is pretty cool that an ESL speaker does not have to be intimidated to adapt. I grew up in a neighborhood that was largely Spanish speaking and while I may understand more than the next dabbler of the Spanish language, if I knew more of an other language, I may be more informed of media affects as it relates to immigrant culture in the US because I would be able to communicate better with people who actually experience it. I think that as long as a we address issues of cultural identity of non-English speakers and continue to implement “user/speaker preference,” it will be very interesting to see the affects of global English in the future.

NMS M.A. stud. looking for: SKILLZ; Or: How to get a job without using good looks and guile

I think I’m pretty well rounded in the media field, but I can use some pointers here and there. Hopefully I can pick helpful hints up if I sign up for some of the classes listed below:

HCI 470 – DIGITAL PAGE FORMATTING:
I’m guessing this class is pretty straight forward in its approach. True funny story: when I was in high school a million years ago, I used to work on the newspaper (oh my, I’ve been a media geek for a million years? Some things never change) we used to use PageMaker to layout our pages, then print quadrants and proceeded to use scissors and paste them onto the proof sheets. Pretty nifty, huh? For some strange reason, whenever I see the cover of the Macaulay Culkin movie, Pagemaster, I think of the good old days.
I like that this class employs “problem-based applications of perceptual and communication principles to the presentation of on-line and off-screen pages.” It seems to me that HCI 470 won’t be too tutorial-y because I can just go buy Digital Page Formatting for Dummies.

ENG 490 – WRITING FOR MAGAZINES:
The word “skills” caught my eye in the description of this course. I haven’t taken a writing course, again, since the good old days of high school. I probably need a reminder course. ENG 490 covers “the elements of style, humor, research, concept and imagery that characterize the literature of fact,” which frankly, sounds dang motivational because I want to improve my writing. Also, they force you to submit original work for publication and I think that would be good for me because right now I tend to shy away from rejection.

CMN 524 – PERSUASION:
Since I want to rebuff mass media and advertising, I think I’d better be aware of their means of persuasion. This course will examine “theories of persuasive communication… at interpersonal, group, and societal levels.” Of course, when I want to be the one selling my ideas, I will want to be ethical in my conniving. In CMN 524, “students also will consider the ethical considerations important in any discussion of persuasive communication.” I, for one, am sold.

MCS 530 - NEW MEDIA AND CULTURE:
One without the other!? Surely you jest! The description of this seminar uses the phrase “cultural ramifications of new media in shaping life experience and opportunity.” Theoretical culturist approaches to new media are fascinating to me and I would like to delve more into “how these new technologies impact identity formation, creative participation and concepts of public culture.” I would really like to figure out exactly what influenced me to be a New Media geek. I’m going to hedge my bets on the media itself.

CMNS 541 - CORPORATE COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE:
You know what would be really cool to examine? Corporate communications and culture IN a media corporation! In this course, I would ask questions such as: How do major networks communicate internally and/or other media outlets? What is the difference between corporation communications in relationship between a network as a whole and its local channel? What is the role of brand management within its own corporation? If I’m mad as hell, do I have to take it anymore and who is going to manage this Howard Beale-like crisis situation through effective communication?

PRAD 553 – ADVERTISING:
I think this course will help me be well rounded in the production/design sphere of New Media Studies. Of course, I like that PRAD 553 “examines the theories, principles, applications and standards of advertising in multiple contexts, both from the perspectives of the practitioner and the consumer.” It was formerly CMN 553, so I think that the course will have a good angle into the effects of advertising on the consumer through the communicator’s lens.

PRAD 555 - PUBLIC RELATIONS:
I haven’t really taken any classes in the PR and Advertising fields and I would like to establish some groundwork in this sector. PRAD 555 combined with the PRAD 553 will hopefully give me the edge I need when it comes to using key terminology in an interview and make myself sound like the hot-commodity that I know I am and for others to believe it, too.

CMNS 563 - MULTICULTURAL MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS:
Since my undergraduate degree is in Media Studies, I think this may make me a master in “representational practices and theories that are informed by multicultural perspectives.” Here I can use my “epistemological” practices of finally understanding what role media plays in my ideology. I like to say that I see the world in pixels and color correct my dreams. Everything I read, see, hear and quote influences me in someway. Yes, I take my media with a polemical stance that it is the root of all evil, but when it comes down to it, I want to be influential, too. I decided to become a master in the art of communication as it relates to our informational era because I probably just want a lifestyle like the rich and famous… which all adds up to how I am going to personify and represent myself in this new media mediated world.

I like to hear myself think except when I don’t shut up.

I pulled out my Penn State transcripts today to see what exactly it was that I spent my money on there. It turns out to be a BA from the College of Communications in Media Studies. I chose the general mass communications option as apposed to journalism, film studies or whatever else the hell the offered. My two year blur (I transferred with an AA in Multimedia Art from C.O.D) consisted of a couple of English and Rhetoric course, a handful of general ed., mass communication research classes and a shitload of studies in theoretical approaches to communications, mass and otherwise. I don’t want to talk too brave or anything, but I’m pretty familiar with the ideological theories of many media scholars. Along with my transcripts, I pulled out a few term papers on which my professor/adviser (and publish media activist) Ronald Bettig noted that while there were a “few minor glitches,” I pretty much knew what I was writing about. I did my homework and have the piece of paper that assumedly proves I have educational foundations of communication theories. Similar to the handouts on Rhetoric and Discourse last week, two years of thinking of nothing but mass communication and media theories made my head hurt. But, what else was I going to do in the Middle of Nowhere, PA. but ponder on what influences in my cultural absorption of life?

At least this week’s reading easier to absorb because of my previous studies. I remember such courses in “The Media and the Public,” “The Political Economy of Communications,” and “The Cultural Aspects of Mass Media.” (Does a BA make me an expert in media? Do I have to practice my knowledge of these theories to be a scholar? Can’t I just watch a block of commercials on the TV without analyzing the content, arrangement, and audience? Should I just have typed “advertorial rhetoric” instead of citing three rhetorical canons?)

Anyhow, I am familiar with Robert McChesney and his oppositions to the oligopoly that is the infrastructure of the current media ownership. His theoretical approach to media is that it should not be a political economy of media institutions because we live in a democracy. He believes that the media is biased because of a handful of rich, powerful people/companies own the top ten most profitable media corporations and they are ultimately a business rather than the voice of the people as democracy would have it to be.

Since I think a blog is not really an appropriate place to “insert senior thesis here,” I’m just going to rant (as seems to be my ongoing theme here). In “Culture, Society, and the Media,” the authors mention that both the traditional liberal and Marxist theories have shifted “to a more cautious assessment in which dominant meaning systems are moulded an relayed by the media (p. 15)” and then personalized by its audience into a meaningful meaning making for their particular socio- status. The rhetoric of a particular media is effective then the audience will perhaps then authenticate it to their belief system and respond accordingly. A true democratic media is “expected to reflect a multi-faceted reality, as truthfully and objectively as possible, free from any bias, especially the biases of the professionals engaged in recording and reporting…(p. 21)”

Like McChesney, Professor Bettig was very adamant about the political economy of the media being biased because of the influence of the upper class reinforcing their own political values through their ownership of the media. The pluralist approach is that the media reflects not one single explanation that can account for reality. If different cultures can coexist within one society, the media should reflect such different cultures. When only a few owners dominate media in, lets say, Chicago, (Tribune Company = Chicago Tribune = WGN; GE = NBC = Chicago Sun Times), there obviously has to be some bias.


Of course ownership is only the tip of the iceberg of the political economy of the media. They are businesses that need to be profitable so they do have to appeal to an audience. Independent filmmakers or unsigned artists are just that because they may not have wide appeal and a media company has to assess their risks of supporting an act. Since the distribution process is easier for a big company and because independents often don’t have the resources for distribution and production, they often get lost in the bombardment that is today’s New Media.

Sometimes I am confounded about the way in which so many theories on the communications of media are all interrelated and sometimes indistinguishable. I am a fan of the pluralist approach because there is no wrong or right way to view life, but that is not to say that life (our culture and society) does not play a part in our views. Also, I am a fan of polemical practices; probably because I like to be argumentative. Communication theory has to naturally begin with oral culture but electronic innovations have significantly changed human interaction in personal, public, and business behaviors. Once I wrote (and I quote myself) “great ratifications were anticipated in the use of electricity but were also expected to cause social catastrophes.” I go on to cite some works that say social breakdowns were not as horrible that predicted and that the industrial revolution included the power for societies to cross geographical and social lines through new technologies, but throughout it all, verbal interaction still to this day stages the foundations of communication.

If a thousand voices are individually recorded and then overlapped, whose can be heard? Is it the one with the most to say, or the one with the loudest, powerful voice? I am sort of comfortable sitting on the middle of the fence, but at the same time I don’t want to be dumb or deaf to the voices that have something to say that impact me so why do I have to shift through shit to find it? It is not as if one can disregard the political economy of the media in regards to structuralist or culturalist theories, but even so, it sometimes seems too much for my puny brain to encapsulate try to figure out media as a whole. Possibly, as long as I am conscious of media as pluralistic and potential influences in my life, I can be my own authority when I choose my reality in today’s volatile society.

...We fear that pop-culture
Is the only culture we're ever going to have
We want to stop reading magazines
Stop watching TV
Stop caring about hollywood
But we're addicted to the things we hate...
So what do you want
You want to be famous and rich and happy
But you're terrified you have nothing to offer this world
Nothing to say and no way to say it
But you can say it in three languages
You are more than the sum of what you consume
Desire is not an occupation
You are alternately thrilled and desperate....

KMFDM, DOGMA