web commentary
I keep my class interesting by making them think about stuff I like to think about, namely, changes on the web and what it's doing to our world. Here are some articles that have come to our attention:Shaughnessy, H. (2006, Oct. 4). The Internet changes the way we think, uh? blogcritics.org. http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/10/04/155517.php. Accessed 10-06.
This one boils down to saying that we don't need as much memory now, since all the information in the world is at our fingertips. I agree, but I think the web does a lot more to us than allow us more brain space. It is true, though, that we could possibly remember different things, now that we're not bogged down with details like, for example, where exactly our teenagers are. There's more to it than this, though- I guarantee it.
Landphair, T. (2006, Oct. 7). Internet goes transparent- literally. Voice of America, American Life. http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2006-10-07-voa33.cfm/. Accessed 11-06.
This one touches the MySpace and FaceBook crazes- and this is something that I've been thinking a bit about, having two teenage boys who fit Samuelson's remarks. Basically I think that all this transparency- baring our souls (I'm as much in it as anyone, though not here)- puts backwards pressure on those who don't. And I think that the young feel in some basic way that having certain people know them well is essential to their survival, and not being afraid to have everyone see them in their crazier moments is important too- or they wouldn't be doing it. People see privacy (or lack of it) much differently than they used to, and have adapted much more quickly to certain realities: 1) that it would take them about fifteen minutes to find you, no matter where you are, if they really wanted to these days; 2) that, in a crowded world, having your cards on the table is a pretty good survival mechanism; 3) that, in a connected world, there isn't much you can truly hide anyway, or should even want to.
Ward, M. (2006, Sept. 25). Spam trail uncovers junk empire. BBC News, Technology. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5371078.stm. Accessed 11-06.
You laugh at these Viagra spammers, but this article shows how they sent 100 million messages by hijacking 100,000 home computers in 119 nations. Ironically, they are mixing in literature with the Viagra messages, and changing that literature every 12 seconds, so that it's a running set of viagra-literature-spam messages; I'm struck by how 1) a young person might be exposed to good literature quite accidentally; and 2) how the author, in this case Tolkien, gets unexpected though fragmented exposure worldwide. Sure, I'm a connaisseur of error haiku, vocabulary-quiz poetry, and other kinds of mixed-media surprises, but this is an interesting twist. The investigators were surprised that they actually supplied pharmaceuticals upon receiving money, which implied that the spammers had a serious-business aspect to them, in spite of the vast worldwide scale of forgery and deception that they used to get to it. I'm also interested in the fake biographies. Maybe I could have a career selling virtual pharmaceuticals to avatars in Second Life.
Education IT Blog (2006, Nov. 11). Recruiters, forget the catalog, just send an instant message. ZD Net Education. http://education.zdnet.com/index.php?p=641. Accessed 11-06.
Here's one for SIUC. Care about the future? Chat is where it's at, I assure you. I'm the only one listening to myself, I'm afraid, but it doesn't matter: I'm charging forward with "SIU-WORLD" chat. As soon as I dig out from under these midterms.
And finally,
I've left Copenhagen for Uganda- A Danish woman's links to Sudanese bloggers.
Watch the world get smaller as we speak. Don't know why I included it, but the world's far corners have always been interesting to me. As they get pulled closer, I realize: this glass-house transparency business iis a world-survival thing. The collective consciousness realizes that it's got to change with the times; we're all in the same greenhouse, I guess. My students may not care about these last two- I just stumbled on them, and didn't want to lose them. I've considered becoming a commentator on the social dynamics of the new web- stumbled across a couple of these too, but lost them- but that will have to wait for the day I've got time and am not too disorganized to let 1100 emails bury what I've got.
Labels: internet
posted by tom @ 9:46 PM
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