Lecture #5 Jan 23rd

Reading: Blogging as social activity

The last sentence in this reading stated “Bloggers arnt letting 900 million people read their diary, but they are letting standing before 900 million, sometimes in an attitude of indifference, sometimes with the hope of reaching out to new people in the ever-expanding blogoshpere. I found this article and this last line interesting as it outlines how many different ways in which a blog is used. A blog can very well be used in a form of a diary, and some blog entries are specifically that. Blogs are also used for updating people on events and activities that are going on in ones lifes, they are used as a way of influencing others. By writing your opinions and ideas into a blog, when others read that blog your ideas are being passed onto them. A blog can also be used in order to gain others opinions and feedback on a topic. Some blogs are used as a way of stress release. by writing about emotional times, it can be away of letting go of these emotions. Blogs are also used commonly by scholars as a way of working through their ideas by writing them out and processing through them in that way.  Before this course i didnt know anything about blogging. I now know that blogging can be personal, impersonal, spiritual,educational, social, commercial  etc. Blogging is an increasingly popular pasttime with huge potential.

This is an entry that i added about our group discussion, i wondered where it had gone and now i just found it on the group blog,opps.anyway il just add it on the end here.
At the end of the lecture when we stayed behind and did group work instead of going down to the computers, our group discussed our views on being a free agent. We all seemed to agree that in most situations everyone is a free agent because if there is a choice then this equates to free agency. We also agreed that different situations changed the degree of free agency that we have. For example, everyone has the choice to simply cross the road, therefore we are free agents in that situation. But if we change the situation slightly to say crossing the road carrying a wod of money, not everyone is now a free agent, as not everyone has access to a wod of money to cross the road with. Writing this down now our examples seem really silly but we used them simply to illustrate that in most situations we are free agents, but not always. We also discussed how there are different degree’s of being a free agent.

lecture #4 Jan 19th

Changes in the organisation of knowledge, and knowlege organisation.

My main focus from the lecture that i concentrated on is Oldenburg’s Third Place Theory.  Oldenburg believes that there is a ‘third place’ where people spend time after work and home. It is particulary interesting looking at Cyber as the “third place” as this shows us how the internet has changed how we socially interact. Years ago when the internet wasnt an option, the only way of socialising and meeting and communicating with people was to go out to an event, whether it be a dance, or a party, or a drink at the pub. To be social one had to physically put themselves out there.  Nowadays with the development in technology and the increased use of the internet people are using  the internet as the ‘third place’. The internet is a way of interacting and communicating, therefore socialising. Technologies even allows for webcams to be set up so that you can be communicating with someone across the other side of the world and be seeing them live on your computer screen at the same time. The internet is now a predominant option of a third place if one would rather communicate online than going out to meet someone for a chat at the pub.

Lecture #3 Jan 16th

Reading: Digital Knowledge Networks linking communities of practice with innovation.

If we think that 2o years ago to really get ahead and make a million dollars most people’s mind set was that they had to start a massive factory or become heavily involved with the invention of a physical product. Nowadays this concept has significantly changed in that some of the richest people dont neccesarily own any tangible assests yet they are inventors and innovators nonetheless. The shift of power is moving more toward the less tangible and as a result the less limited direction illustrated through the internet.  a simple idea/invention such as the technology/method behind the company u tube. u tube is a classic example of how a simple idea after a couple of years is worth a billion dollars. This is unachievable in traditional methods of business.  This just shows how the rise of information technology and electronic information netowrks has and can lead to advanced business performance. Imagine what opportunities the next step in technology developments will bring, especially to the business sector.

Lecture #2 (jan 12th)

Virtual Spaces of Information.

I find it interesting, the concept of a virtual place itself. If there is going to be things such as a virtual place or a virtual space on the internet, then what are these places going to evolve into? Traditional forms of communication have resulted in  examples of major negative impacts that have come on the world as a result. The internet is merely a tool in which supports this virtual reality in allowing people to communicate. Hitler’s biggest tool in the devastation that he caused was the power of communication. He was able to reach people and convince them to follow him and his ways. This leads to the question of whether the internet place/space going to always be “happy” place/space like it predominently is now, or will it evolve into a tool used to control and manipulate masses of people. Perhaps this tool is already being used in this way, but we may not realise it. For example when you can imagine the control that google and u tube and other major players on the internet have,  there is the possibility that some information/communication could be fabricated or withheld. To elaborate on this i think read somewhere that Japan and google have a relationship where Japan screens all the information the Japanese community can find on the world wide web, this is an effect withholding information to the Japanese public and controlling a level of ignorance. Not to sound negative though, i realise virtual spaces/places have and are being used in very positive ways which benefit many, but the question is what is the long term direction of these virtual spaces/places. It will be interesting to see how it goes.