Group 1 reading

The idea that government surveillance would bolster involvement for minority opinions was one I had not thought of, and goes against what I would have originally thought. I guess that groups that feel oppressed are going to fight even more when the government is watching them. And the internet is able to mobilize people better than most forms of communication, so that helps as well.

Breaking the feed

Today, I decided to cut myself off from recreational internet use (everything besides checking e-mail). It was much more difficult than I thought it would be, as I didn't have a ton of things to do today, and I usually go online to amuse myself with sports stuff, Facebook, etc. I did pretty well for the most part, I caught myself doing it a couple times without even thinking. It actually turned out to be a more restful day b/c of it, as I spent more time reading and doing Sudoku while listening to music and not being overloaded by information.

Feed

I found Feed to be the most interesting reading we've had thus far this semester. It was intriguing as it relates to the class but also was pretty good as a novel. The idea of having a contraption inside your head allowing instant communication as well as ultimate advertising targeting is a frightening one, and hopefully is not in the works. The whole debate between the old (Violet's dad, her not getting a feed until she was seven) and the new (Titus and all his friends) that went on throughout the entire book was perhaps the most interesting and relevant part of the novel. Yes, the feed has a lot of good features, but Violet and Titus seemed happiest when they were off of it, and it caused a premature death for her. The fact that people nearly stopped functioning when a "hacker" hit them is reason enough to get rid of the contraption.

Virtualities

Poster article: The fact that Poster think technology could harm language is one that is being shown already today. Netspeak and the fact that some people only communicate through instant messenger, e-mail and text messages show Poster was right to be concerned. Technology may have helped many facets of life, but it didn't help social connections, as they have been relegated to only non-personal connections. It's interesting that Poster used Foucault's panopticon to describe databases, that people can be classified that way online. Lastly, the idea that electronic writing subverts the culture of print also is shown today, as more and more people are neglecting newspapers in favor of online content.

Michaels article: The Warlpiri case is a complex one. Why the Australian government was so up in arms about them broadcasting is beyond me, in that it didn't really threaten them much. Whether technology benefitted or destroyed Warlpiri culture is a good debate as well, because it seems they wanted to broadcast at first for their own benefit. But what they are doing today appears to be more geared towards profit.


Plant article: I understand a little what Plant was talking about with the way gender is viewed and so forth but she wrapped it in such a thick coating it was hard to find. She jumped all over the place and as a consequence, the article was extremely hard to follow and comprehend.

Information and American Democracy pt II

The part about the Million Moms March was extremely interesting, in that the protest went so well, and that they were able to get so many people, but they pretty much all went their separate ways afterwards. You'd think if their task was so important, they would keep going to further their cause. It does prove that causes don't need money and unlimited power to succeed, though, as if that were the case, the NRA probably would have silenced them pretty quickly. Also, as I was living in Minnesota during the Jesse Ventura election, it was interesting to hear Bimber's thoughts on it. He certainly did a great job utilizing the different technologies to get elected governor, it really did come out of nowhere. Nobody thought he had any shot, but suddenly he somehow win.

Information and American Democracy pt I

Bimber's claim that technology has very few participation effects is an interesting one. Obviously voter turnout has been falling for decades as technology has improved, but why is this? People now have more resources to get informed with, but continue to avoid polls. Bimber doesn't seem to have an answer for this, but he does claim technology should add to information abundance, which should lead to postbureaucratic forms of politics. Whether this will ever happen, though, remains to be seen. People use technology to mobilize, but it does not appear to be that effective. It's interesting that although all these new technologies and new ways to campaign have arisen, politicians still use things like mail and other older forms of communication. Environmental groups seem to be the best at this, as they have used information to spread their causes as good as anyone, even though their numbers have fallen.