Week 6 - Response to Content

“Viral marketing is a marketing technique that focuses on customers and users spreading information about a product or brand” (Oden 2011, p.1).

An example of a viral site for movies is Flixster. This is a social movie site and a great way to let the world see your product through viral marketing. You can watch new movies and hook up with other movie buffs and share ratings (Wikipedia 2011).

Viral marketing is an example of marketing at its best. It is cost effective as the producers don’t have to pay to have their advertisement aired on television. An advertisement gets spread through the internet from forwarding it on to friends. It is a great way to get the word out about a product at a small cost for production of the ad.

I found a great example of viral marketing for smart water with Jennifer Anniston – it was her first viral marketing advertisement - it's already received over 9 million hits since March.

References:

Oden, N & Larsson, R, 2011, ‘What makes a marketing campaign a viral success?’, Institutionen for Informatik, Umea Universitet http://umu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:433110/FULLTEXT01.

Wikipedia 2011, Flixter, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flixster

You Tube 2011, ‘Jennifer Aniston goes viral – smartwater’, viewed 5 September, via <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc47LcvIxyI>.

Week 8 - Response to Content

Indeed it takes two to tango and two hands are better than one but when it comes to creativity I believe in the saying ‘the more the merrier’ and that’s where participatory culture comes in. Participatory culture is artistic content generated by a community of people to achieve a common goal (Jenkins H 2006). This means collaborating to achieve a result that one couldn’t do on one’s own. I used to be really guarded when it came to playing my guitar and writing music. I wasn’t so keen on sharing any of my creativity with anyone. It was more the fear of being judged and told that what I had done wasn’t good enough but I didn’t look at it from the perspective of how much I was actually missing out on when it came to sharing my music with the world along with giving and getting ideas. We must always be passing our knowledge on to avoid it going stale within us. What participatory culture brings to the table is another realm of expression. It allows online communities to come together and express themselves with the use of theirs and other people’s material. We learn in many ways from others and from working together our ideas expand. From participation comes growth. Sharing and contribution opens a whole new world of learning.

References:

Jenkins, H 2006, Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21^st Century, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Week 8 - Tutorial Task

I have now overcome the issues with copyright by doing an advanced search on Creative Commons by going to advanced search and making the modification to use strict filtering. There are fewer photos to choose from but as we only need around six photos for our movie, I am still able to find enough relevant pictures. My tutor, Lauren showed me how to reference the photos. I have saved the downloaded photos & not the actual page that they have come from so I have to re-find the photos again so I can get the correct referencing & this is very time consuming. Another lesson learnt. As the author’s photos do not carry specific instructions on how to reference them my tutor said to reference them all the same and send and send an email to the author to let them know that this is what I’ve done and to let me know if they would like me to change it in any way. 

We had some issues with a documentary that we found and wanted to use. It took a short while to download last week and it also took some time to figure out how to edit. We thought that that was that but it turns out, after looking at the copyright that it can only be for re-use and not for remix. As we need to cut the 30 minute documentary to 2.31 minutes, we have had to find another video.

We shot the footage that we are going to need for the film. I play the main (or should I say only character) in the trailer. There were about 6 scenes that we filmed. It was based in the computer lab and I also recorded some informal additions to a blog I am creating that forms part of the script. All we will have to do now is edit. We are very pleased with the process and how we are travelling.

Week 7 - Tutorial Task

Our group met up again this week to talk about what we have come up with. We are able to use Christina’s Macbook pro which has I Movie. Christina played us some sounds that she’s been working on; from a scary computer voice to the Nokia phone ring and some scary music that we can use.  I was able to download some photos that we could use of computers and I phones exploding, however we have since learnt that we will need to do an advanced search on Creative Commons so the 20 photos I have found will need to be discarded and I will have to start again.  A strict modified search will allow us to the full rights to use pictures as the ones that I have downloaded have a copyright. I have found some newspaper articles in regards to e-dumping and what people are doing to help in the quest to lessen the impact. I also read another interesting newspaper article about the death of a Chinese man whose I Phone exploded in his pocket which resulted in his death (Ikram 2011). After reading through the newspaper articles as a group we have come up with a further plan of for the movie and are going to include an environmental theme of e-dumping rather than just focus on it being a scary movie where technology is angry about being upgraded, used and abused. The message will now go a lot deeper and it can be a warning to people to think twice before upgrading as our planet is becoming a cesspit.   Lisa was able to download part of a documentary from Real Player Download-Converter about e-dumping. We have edited this at just under 30 seconds. It is a very significant part of the movie as it has a clear message about what happens to our technology after is no longer needed. 

We met up again this afternoon to do some filming but were unable to find a spare room to film in so we started discussing how our storyline would go and commenced writing our script.

Reference:

Ikram 2011, ‘It’s all about new Technology’, <http://euro-tech.blogspot.com/2007/07/exploding-motorola-phone-kills-chinese.html>

Week 7 - Response to Content

We looked at ‘Produsage’ and what it is exactly in today’s lecture.  Dr Axel Bruns; lecturer at QUT has done some extensive research on the topic, thus an expert in the field. My understanding of the word is as follows: There is so much information in the world for every subject and every topic can be debateable and open for interpretation. Someone will have had different experiences to the next person due to the internet sites they have looked up, television shows they have watched, countries they have visited and people they have met and experiences they have had. “Produsage is a celebration of the incomplete” (Nicolis, J 2011, pers. comm., 6 September). It allows people to add to information that is already available rather than re-creating new material. It gives us a chance to build upon material and collaborate with other participants to achieve a common goal.

Well we all know about generation X and generation Y but have you ever heard of the new generation… Generation C? Standing for not just ‘content’ & creativity’ but goes hand in hand with ‘casual collapse’ of mass media & it seems that as times are changing the Encyclopoedia Britannica is moving aside for the popular Wikipedia (Bruns 2006, p.1).Generation C have the power and with their technical advantage and new doors opening in every direction with abundance of social media sites, open forums to exercise their citizen journalism skills they are in their element to move forward and collaborate with their peers.

                                       (as producer)


Content >>>>>>>>        Produser      >>>>>>Content


                                          (as user)

Above image shows that the participation of the contributors is open.

References:

Produsage.org, 2007, image, viewed 6 September 2011, http://produsage.org/produsage

Bruns, A, 2006, Futures for user-led content production, p.1 viewed 6 September, 2011, http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholarq=cache:7SUXrLXLLcIJ:scholar.google.com/+produsage&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5

Week 6 - Tutorial Task

We chose our groups this week about the short movie we are to make over the next few weeks. I will be teamed with Christina Earnshaw & Lisa Townley. Our brainstorming session involved several ideas to see what everyone was thinking in regards to the content for our movie.  The first theme we were considering was going to be about an online dating service. This would include three people talking about their experience in the dating world, however we did not follow through with this idea as we thought our next idea would be more fun to create.

Technology fights back. A trailer for a scary movie about technology being upset about being used and abused. This would involve new communication technologies trying to kill a man who was continuously upgrading and disposing of his old technology. From phones to computers; technology will gang up on this ‘upgrader’ to the point where it could result in his death.

In regards to sourcing material, we have decided to film the majority of this film. We are thinking about technology going wrong & filming scenes such as the cord of the mouse wrapping itself around the victim’s neck, a computer typing death threats into the keypad and have the words appear on the screen much to the horror of the victim and a phone talking to the man whilst he is trying to dial.  We will also need to download pictures of technology exploding to put into the movie as we are going to have a series of photos flashing in front of the man on the computer.

Our Tutor, Lauren spoke to us about issues regarding copyright and how we could get around it. We learnt about a site where you can share information called Creative Commons. This means that if we use material from this site whether it be photos or videos that we may need for our short movie; we wouldn’t have to reference the material that we embedded in our project as People can upload their work so that it can be shared with others may wish to use the material.  Under the Creative Commons licence, exclusive rights of one’s work are surrendered and shared amongst the public, giving others freedom to use the material on this site without having to credit the work of the artist (Creative Commons 2011).

Reference:

Creative Commons 2011,Creative Commons legal Code viewed 3 September 2011 via

<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode>.

Week 9 - Response to Content

What opportunities can you find for political participation via the internet. How many of the following can you achieve while sticking to your political beliefs?

1.    Sign an e-petition

·         http://goldcoastpets.com.au/2011/02/24/allconnex-water-rate-rebellion/

I had to analyse Disconex’s PR campaign for Public Relations so this assignment got me signing this petition to support the cause. NCT – not just challenging but also pushing me forward to take a stand & help the people.

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=908583

Another great cause.

2.    Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.

·         http://blogs.news.com.au/bossy/index.php/news/comments/how_do_i_know_if_hes_a_woman_beater/

Added my 2 cents to the comments page.

3.    What is Barak Obama up to today? Can you send him a message about the importance of freedom on the internet?

·         http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog This is the White House blog that numerous people post to daily.

      http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

      (twitter account) – who isn’t on twitter these days?  Besides me.

4.    What are the Australian Government's plans to censor the internet (the so-called "Clean Feed")?

Internet service provider filtering will help diminish restricted content that relates to children and their wellbeing.  This will protect children and limit searching and downloading illegal material and also limit availability to sites that could be harmful to children (Australian Government 2011).

Reference:

Australian Government 2011, Internet service provider (ISP) filtering, viewed 23 September 2011 via <http://www.dbcde.gov.au/funding_and_programs/cybersafety_plan/internet_service_provider_isp_filtering>.

5.    What place does censorship have in a democracy?

·         http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/intolerance-and-censorship-have-no-place-in-democracy/ - I think the title says it all “Intolerance and censorship have no place in democracy” This is a great way to get people talking about Politics – Politics with the Punch!

6.    When will the NBN get to your place? What are the benefits?

·         http://www.nbn.gov.au/

·         http://www.nbnco.com.au/our-network/index.html

It seems that there are lots of advantages. I’ve named a few below:

Cheaper: As the optical fibre is cheaper to make than copper wire and in turn saves the provider money which I would think will be passed onto the consumer.

Better signal: Optical fiber can pick up signals better than copper wire – this will result in less frustration to the general public who rely on internet access for work and study.

Not a fire hazard: Electricity is non-existent which lowers the risk of fires by 100% (Freudenrich n.d).

Reference:

Freudenrich, C, W n.d., How Fiber Optics Work: Advantages of Fiber Optics, viewed 22 September 2011 via <http://communication.howstuffworks.com/fiber-optic-communications/fiber-optic4.htm>.

7.    Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are. Send one a message.

·         http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/mi-elctr.asp

·          (member list) – Steven Ciobo MP – Local Federal Division of Moncrieff

·         http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/member.asp?electorate=Moncrieff

·          (contact information for Steven Ciobo MP

·         http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard2.aspx?pid=4351#local (Local Members of State Parliament – Peter Lawler MP + PDF with contact details)

·         http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard2.aspx?pid=3883 (Councillor Susie Douglas + contact details)

8.    Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your local member spoke in parliament.

·         http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/summary/summary.w3p;orderBy=date-eFirst;page=0;query=Steven%20Ciobo;resCount=Default (newest one I could find through the search function of Hansard)

9.    Let your local member know what you think about their last speech.

I’ve changed this to his first speech as although Steven’s name appears in Hansard I was unable to locate the speech itself.

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/firstspeech.asp?id=AN0

            Dear Steven, 

Your first speech was an inspiration to me. So eloquently written and expressed. I too enjoy quotes by Aristotle and to speak of one in relation to your beloved wife about friendship is both beautiful and brave as you share it amongst all the people listening to your profound love.  From your speech I I understand you are a man of passion for all that you believe in and your dedication and appreciation to friendships is honourable.  I wish you all the very best in your leadership role. Yours sincerely, Renae Bressi

CyberPolitics

Step into the 21^st century where almost anything goes on the internet. Do and say what you like in group forums, create a blog with your opinions and share your knowledge on the world wide web. As long as what you are doing is not illegal you can develop a voice and use it loud and proud.  I travelled around Cuba in 2004 and you would not hear so much as one political word spoken by the people. “Fidel Castro is good”. “Our government is good”. Any opinions about the government or a person’s personal views was not shared. There is no freedom of speech amongst the people let alone on the internet. It was rare that anyone even had the internet connected and if they did happen to be in the small percentage that did, they would not be sharing their thoughts in a blog about their political views. Freedom of speech is unheard of and any expression of that sort will get ‘the offender’ put behind bars.

Internet politics otherwise known as ‘CyberPolitics’ is the exchange of political information that is communicated over the internet by discussion groups, databases and news sites (Whillock 1997).

Not only do we live in a democratic society but a multicultural Australia opens the doors to a mix of different cultures and opinions that give us broader first-hand knowledge and conversation on how the other half live.   

Whillock, RK 1997, ‘Cyber-Politics: The Online Strategies of ‘96’, The American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 80, no. 8, p. 1208 viewed 23 September 2011, via ProQuest, <http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/214771763?accountid=14543>

Week 9 - Tutorial Task

Essay Plan

Does the extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people.  What are the most recent papers? Clarify what both sides of the argument claim and only then offer your reasoned opinion based on facts.

My essay will analyse the issue that extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people.  Firstly I will look at addiction find studies that show how people with addictive personalities become addicted to computer games and prove that it is not the video game itself that causes the addiction. In Mark Prensky’s book ‘Don’t bother me mom I’m Learning (2006) suggests researchers do not mention the numerous other activities that affect addictive behaviour and that people with addictive personalities are prone to addiction of any type.   I will then look at exercise and gaming and how the invention of video games such as Wii encourage physical activity. Wii has changed people’s perceptions about fitness and promotes physical and cardio-vascular exercise. The Wii healthy website (www.wiihealthy.com) provides workout plans designed for weight loss whilst playing Wii sports.  In conclusion I will debate that video games encourage participation and physical health in the modern age with the invention of games that are helpful in this era. I believe that anything in moderation is a good thing and if users are responsible and children are monitored when playing, gamers can get a lot out of health benefits out of computer games.



E-waste - the movie
We successfully finished our video - I'm so happy with how it turned out. It's laughable but we have to give ourselves credit for our first attempt at making this video. E-Waste is a movie trailer about a university student journalist investigating E-dumping and E-waste into third world countries and blogs about it. In Jen's attempt to expose the truth, an environmental activist goes missing and Jen could be next. Who would want to hush these people to stop them from releasing the truth & will Jen live to tell her story?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r5Y5khoCEc

Week 2 - Tutorial Task

Task 2:Answers:

The first piece of communication technology I bought was a Nokia brick phone back in 1998. I was working in Real Estate and needed it for the job.I had this phone for 10 years as it suited my needs. For my last job I was given a Blackberry as it is what everyone used in the office. I found that my Nokia worked better. The Blackberry had to be charged every night otherwise it failed to work and had to be sent back to the company to be fixed. I have been using Hotmail for quite some time now. Thanks to the suggestion from a friend I started an account in 1999 just before taking off on a 2 year stint overseas to keep in touch with friends and family. A couple of years ago I signed up to Facebook which I have found very handy to find and keep in touch with friends from all over the world but I haven’t signed up to Twitter or any of the other social networks as I think one is enough for now. Occasionally I use skype but it is all about timing as the friends I speak with are in countries such as France, Spain, Chile and Sri Lanka so it just depends if our timing coincides.

Privacy is an issue for me as there are so many stories out there about people’s identities being stolen so I try to keep the information that I make public to a limit although once you have put anything on the computer it is up for grabs.

When I was younger I had penfriends from all over the world and since the advancement of technology I have been able to connect with them. There is one friend in particular from Finland that I have never met but we continue to write on Facebook. We have been writing to each other for 24 years. I don’t think it is a lot different to people I know in person but it depends on the relationship you have with people. I find that it is easier to write to people and express your feelings on paper than it is face to face but again that varies from person to person depending on the rapport you have with them.

Google +1
If you are a Facebook user you will already be familiar with the “Like” button that was invented not only for the time poor public to simply click on it and recommend it to friends but for marketing purposes as it gives that extra thumbs up. Google+1 is similar to the “Like” button because it allows people to click on the +1 that appears on websites to recommend them to friends and in turn give advertisers more coverage over the World Wide Web. Informationweek online states that organisations that add the +1 to their webpages increase their ability to stand out, which will in turn increase profits (United Business Media 2011). Google +1 has made this button available to all businesses on the Web. However, should everyone be allowed to use it? In an article by Matthew Arnold, the question is asked if physicians would want pharmaceutical products to be advertised with the +1, not to mention people who actually use these products (Matthew 2011). Are we going too far in getting our message across? Just because technology is expanding, should we take the easy option to make products known? Nearly every business has a Web presence of some description these days and to be successful you must stand out in the crowd. This added tool is available to all businesses on the Web and it people not only to make their experience interactive but for marketers to see where the interest is coming from.

References:
Arnold, M 2011, ‘Google adds Facebook-like +1 to ads’, Medical Marketing and Media, vol. 46, no. 5, p. 1, accessed 25 August 2011 from Proquest http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/884644248#

United Business Media 2011, ‘Google extends +1 button to third-party websites’, Informationweek - Online, accessed 25 August 2011 from Proquest http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/871101750

Week 4 - Response to Content

eXistenZ
Enter into the futuristic world of virtual reality where you get lost between what is reality and fiction. Cyberspace is the next location we will visit in the gaming world and this movie takes us there. Ever wondered what it would be like to experience computer simulation and be part of a whole new reality? In this movie a group of gamers take the plunge and step into this cosmos to test a new game pod. After the creator of this revolutionary new interactive video game is shot, she must play the game with a trustworthy person to test that her invention wasn’t damaged during the download. If the pod is damaged, 5 precious years of creating this advancement in technology will be wasted. eXistenZ compares to the movie Tron, which also takes us into a dangerous cyberworld and engagers us in the experience of a new world and the relationship we have with robots. These films force us to think in a new way about how technology works. Walter Ong suggests that fresh technologies not only change the way we live but increase our thinking capacity (Swenson 2006). As technology changes so does a society and we are forever evolving from the new things we learn. Even if we don’t adopt the technology after it has been released; the social consciousness will eventually take us in the direction of change.

Take a look at the trailer of the best scene from Tron:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEU5Mk_pmlE&NR=1

Reference
IMBD 1999, eXistenz, accessed on 23 August, 2011 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120907/
Swenson, J, Young, CA, McGrail, E, Rozema, R, Whitin, P 2006, Extending the conversation: New technologies, new literacies, and English education, vol. 38, no.4, p. 352. http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/214372432/fulltextPDF/13174733297A1742E3/1?accountid=14543 accessed on 27 August 2011 from Proquest.

Week 4 - Tutorial Task

Facebook Terms of Service, in my understanding, are as follows:

In regards to who can create an account; no one under the age of 13 can sign up – if information from a minor is found, it will be deleted (Facebook’s Privacy Policy 2010). Members can add their status, photos, videos, share links, create events/groups, write posts, wall notes and send messages. From my understanding, once photos or videos have been uploaded, Facebook owns the rights to sell or reproduce the material. There seems to be a common misunderstanding when I speak with people about this subject; FB does not own your information. Under the Terms & Conditions that you have entered into, you agree to share your personal information, though FB does say it has "an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (to)...use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works, and distribute material as long as it doesn't violate the privacy preferences set by the user” (CBS News 2009). This does not shock me at all. Once you add something to the internet you lose all exclusivity of it. Facebook has privacy options in place where they allow you to choose who you would like to see your full profile. They also guarantee their site is secure when sensitive information such as when credit card numbers are entered.

References:
CBS News 2009, ‘Facebook: Relax, We Won’t Sell Your Photos’, accessed 17 August 2011 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/17/tech/cnettechnews/main4806690.shtml

Facebook’s Privacy Policy 2010, accessed 17 August 2011 http://www.facebook.com/policy.php

Week 5 - Response to Content

Screen studies and production:

5 essential plot elements:
1. Believable/sympathetic – lead characters & consistency in character
2. Create character in a way the audience can relate to certain traits – urgent difficult problem – Essential character may be bad but we still want them to succeed
3. Attempts to overcome problem – obstacles become harder for character
4. The last stand/climax – this scene lets us know if character will succeed
5. Resolution

Three Act Structure:
1. Setup
2. Confrontation
3. Resolution

Rubber is about a tyre that rolls along in the desert and runs over things that cross its path. It is a very unique film as the main character is an inanimate object. It starts off small, running over bottles to a scorpion until it realises that it can make objects explode through its psychokinetic powers. There is consistency in the character as the character grows throughout the 1st Act, starting by crushing things to making them explode with its mind. This could be related to the conflict expressed in the movie Falling Down where Michael Douglas’ character stands up for himself in a restaurant when they won’t let him order breakfast just minutes after they stopped serving it (Exploring The Meaning Of Movies 2004 – 2008). We establish a connection with the tyre and are interested to see where its journey takes it. Rubber shows us the tyre's attempts to evolve and we can relate when it reaches obstacles such as a glass bottle that it can’t quite roll over easily. As the tyre cannot speak we must imagine what it is thinking and this can be understood in the subtext, the emotions within the speech (The meaning behind the words 2008). We have to step into the mind of the tyre to get to be able to relate to it and develop a connection to it through its actions and also through the music employed ‘I just don’t want to be lonely’.
The set-up of Act 1 is not typical as it involves an audience in the movie watching the tyre’s journey through binoculars. It sets up the human characters in the movie (in this case the internal audience) and we see an understanding of the characters evolve. The characters range from a couple of film buffs who know all the movie terms to teenage girls who don’t really care about the movie, a kid with his dad who is just there because he has to be. The first 10 minutes has a Ferris Breuler interactive type feel to it as the policeman at the very beginning is talking directly to the camera; a way to get us on the other side involved. Rubber does a good job in setting up the characters and kept me interested in what was to come.

Here’s a sneak peek of the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G5pyFhmAqE

References:
FilmScriptWriting.com, 2011, Subtext: The meaning behind the words accessed on 26 August 2011 from http://www.filmscriptwriting.com/subtext.html

Exploring the meaning of movies, 2004 – 2008, The Clapperboard accessed on 26 August 2011 from http://www.theclapperboard.com/view_posting.php?posting_id=129

Week 3 - Response to Content

It had never occurred to me to think of the World Wide Web as something different from the internet. Though a simple fact, it had never crossed my mind to think of them as different. The bold writing with this detail made me sure that others must not know the difference either. The Web is indicated by the use of www. Searching the internet involves many little computers that bring people from all walks of life together. ‘Warriors of the Net’ introduces the six characters that play a part in the workings of the internet. I understand the internet as many of little packets being transported around an interactive network. They travel on a wonderful adventure that takes just seconds for the messages to be delivered although they have to take the long way round. Rosenberg (2000, p. 1) indicates there are many different passages the messages take; a message from the US could even find itself in Europe before going back to its intended destination in France. So it appears to be a lot like the standard mailing system that we have here in Australia.

Reference:
Rosenberg, P 2000, ‘How does the Internet really work?’ E C & M, vol. 99, no. 6, p. 48, accessed 11 August 2011, from Proquest http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/206071645

Week 2 - Response to Content

I rarely watch TV because I have so much more meaning in my life without it. When I do sit down in front of the box, I get sucked in to the flashing colours and the familiar noise and become transfixed. The giant screen takes over my life. The mix of flashing colours and the advertisements succeed so well at their purpose to suck me in, warp my mind and make me believe that I need the food that is advertised, the clothes on the model or the holiday that will transport me away from my current stresses; probably to a motel room with an even bigger TV that will give me some ideas to spend even more money that we can pay back eventually on credit. Somehow what I am staring at on the screen becomes more important than the life outside, the interaction I have with others or the music that I create on my guitar. I find staring at a screen very limiting and indeed quite strange but in the eye of the public it is totally acceptable. If, however, people are standing on the street doing nothing and I mean literally nothing, just staring into space and watching the world go by people, I do not regard this as an acceptable form of behaviour. The ‘nothing experiment’ tested the public’s reaction when they sent out an entire class of 262 students to go and do nothing. Staring into space does not follow the social norms and the reactions of the people were everything from abuse, to confusion, to outrage.

Halnon K, B 2001, ‘The sociology of doing nothing: A model to adopt a stigma in a public place Exercise’, American Sociological Association, Teaching Sociology, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 423-438, accessed 27 August, 2011 via Jstor http://www.jstor.org/pss/1318944
Check out this site to see some of the nothing experiment:
http://www.sociologysource.com/home/2011/3/2/doing-nothing-learning-deviance.html

Week 3 - Tutorial Task

* BBS - Bulletin Board Systems. 

“A BBS is a home computer connected to a phone line, via a modem, which other people with computers and modems could call and leave messages” (BBS The Documentary 2004). BBS are now considered an old communication technology as they were not able to offer the immediacy that people are used to these days due to their delayed time response. Popular in its day, BBS and old-world technology just could not offer the synchronous communication and meet the needs of the people of today. However, it was the forerunner for creating connectivity and interactivity.

Invented in 1978, it was a popular way of relaying messages over the internet between the early 1980’s and 1990’s (Layton & Zydyk 2000). Users would leave messages and seek out information that was of interest to them. It was popular for people to use BBS for anything from gaming, playing cards or finding like-minded people who shared similar interests. (Penton Publishing 1995, p. 44)

BBS operate with a delayed time. People want instant responses. One of the reasons Facebook implemented the like button was to give people a tool that gives them the ability to make faster contributions. BBS could not give people that kind of immediacy and therefore couldn’t keep up with current and more popular advancements in technology.

 References

Layton, A, Scott, J & Zydyk, M 2000, Bulletin Board System (BBS), SearchCIO-Midmarket.com 2011, viewed 20 August 2011, from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213807,00.html.

Could your company benefit from a BBS? 1995, Managing Office Technology, vol. 40, iss. 3, p.44. http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/233509782?accountid=14543

Week 5 - Tutorial Task

1.       Where was the first University established and in which year?

Nalanda: established 427 AD India

Griffith Library database “first university” and “year”

http://global.factiva.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/ha/default.aspx accessed 24 August 2011

 

2.       What is Stephen Stockwell’s band called and what does he play? Can you name a couple of their songs?

Band: The Black Assassins

Ask.com: “Stephen Stockwell” AND “band” AND “instrument”

http://akahsha.wordpress.com/ accessed 26 August 2011

Songs: Death take me now & Drugs

http://www.myspace.com/theblackassassins accessed 26 August 2011

Instruments: Keyboard & Vocals

Bing: “Stephen Stockwell” AND “The Black Assassins”

http://web.revolutionrock.com.au/oral-hist/index.php?id=24 accessed 26 August

3.       What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?

45,500 tonnes

Ask.com: “World’s Biggest Machine” AND “weight”

$100 million

Ask.com: How much did it cost to build bagger 288?

http://www.michaelgriswold.com/Pictures/ALL/bagger/bagger.html accessed 26 August 2011

4.       Who is Justin Beiber’s lawyer and what is the quickest and most reliable way to contact the lawyer?

Feinswog, Kenneth A Attorney At Law

6701 Center Drive W # 610

Los Angeles, CA 90045-1555

Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Metro Area

(310) 277-8211

Ask.com: “Justin Beiber” AND “lawyer” – located story RE: case which was representing Beiber and Lady Gaga

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/search.php?cx=partner-pub-5315453046799966%3Aw8eu65423t1&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kenneth+Feinswog&sa.x=0&sa.y=0

Ask.com: “Kenneth Feinswog” for lawyer’s address and contact details in Los Angeles

http://www.ask.com/web?q=how+to+contact+Feinswog%2C+Kenneth&search=&qsrc=0&o=10181&l=dir

Clicked on Mantra.com for address

http://www.manta.com/c/mms3lh1/kenneth-a-feinswog-attorney accessed 27 August 2011

5.       What’s the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?

Plane – Tiger Airways $59.99

Ask.com: What’s the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?

www.tigerairways.com.au accessed 27 August 2011

6.       Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? When is her birthday?

An anime character from the Vocaloid Character Vocal Series

Yamaha Corporation

Bing: “Hatsune Miku” AND “company” AND “birthday” http://www.animevice.com/miku-hatsune/18-20703/ accessed 26 August 2011

7.       Find a live webcam in Belarus. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.

Bing: Live Webcam in Belarus

http:/ / www.camvista.com/ usercams/ webcam/ 315095236/ belarus/ minsk/ minsk-capital-city-square-web-cam-in-belarus/, accessed 27 August 2011

Ask.com: “Accommodation & Antarctica” www.addictedtotravel.com/accommodation/default.aspx?reg accessed 27 August 2011

8.       What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1991?

Ask.com: List of number-one songs in Australia during the 1990’s?

Bryan Adams –Everything I do, I do it for you

Highest selling single of the year - 27 July for 11 weeks

http://www.ask.com/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_in_Australia_during_the_1990s?qsrc=3044#1991 accessed 27 August 2011

9.       What type of car is used to make ‘Google Street View’?

Ask.com: What type of car is used to make “Google Street View”?

Google Street View displays images taken from a fleet of specially adapted cars. Areas not accessible by car, like pedestrian areas, narrow streets, alleys and ski resorts, are sometimes covered by Google Trikes (tricycles) or (snowmobiles). On each of these vehicles there are nine directional cameras for 360 degrees views at a height of about 8.2 feet, or 2.5 meters, GPS units for positioning and three laser range scanners for the measuring of up to 50 metres 180 degrees in the front of the vehicle. There are also 3G/GSM/Wi-Fi antennas for scanning 3G/GSM and Wi-Fi hotspots. Recently, ‘high quality’ images are based on open source hardware cameras from Elphel. http://www.ask.com/wiki/Google_Street_View accessed 27 August 2011

10.   Translate these questions into Spanish and then translate the back into English.

Ask.com: English and Spanish Translation Machine

*** Please note: due to the format of the translation this is the best view I could get for them. If I were to type them out again I would not have been able to add the tilde's or the upside down question marks. Thank you for your understanding.

1.  ¿Dónde estaba la Universidad estableció por primera vez y en qué año?

2.¿Qué es la banda de Stephen Stockwell se llama y qué hace el juego?

¿Puede usted nombrar un par de sus canciones?

3. ¿Cuál es el peso del mundo?

Es más grande de la máquina?

¿Cuánto cuesta construir?

4. ¿Quién es el abogado de Justin Bieber, y lo que es la mejor manera (más rápido, más

 fiable) ponerse en contacto con el abogado?

5. ¿Cuál es la forma más barata de viajar desde la Costa de Oro a Melbourne?

6. ¿Quién es Hatsune Miku?

¿Qué compañía no pertenecen a ella? ¿Cuál es su cumpleaños?

7.

Encontrar una webcam en vivo en Bielorrusia.

Encontrar un lugar para quedarse en la Antártida.

8.

¿Qué canción fue la parte superior de las listas de pop de Australia esta semana en el año

1991?

¿Qué tipo de vehículo se utiliza para hacer? Google Street View?

10. Traducir estas preguntas en español y luego traducir de nuevo en Inglés.

 

1.     Where was the first University established and in which year?

2.     What is Stephen Stockwell's band called and what does he play? Can you name a couple of their songs?

3.     What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?

4.     Who is Justin Bieber's lawyer, and what is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact the lawyer?

5.     What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?

6.     Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?

7.     Find a live webcam in Belarus. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.

8.     What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1991?

9.     What type of car is used to make ‘Google Street View’?

10.  Translate these questions into Spanish and then translate them back into English.

http://www.translatum.gr/dics/mt.htm accessed 26 August 2011