i am reading dreyfus's ''on the internet'' for class and i wanted to see what people had to say about the book. this is an interesting criticism i thought i would share. it comes from the second life herald, how appropriate.
http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2003/10/review_of_on_th.html
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
cheating in online games
cheating frequently occurs in online games. perhaps it is the smaller chance of getting caught or the fact that no one can see you, but it seems to be more socially acceptable in virtual spaces. in many cases it becomes ''necessary'' to cheat to level the playing field.
why does the internet encourage socially unacceptable behavior?
the internet allows individuals to be connected to a huge participant base. people are able to find other who share their interests and wacky ideas. in a group setting people can rationalize almost anything they want - there are others like me, i'm not crazy.
why does the internet encourage socially unacceptable behavior?
the internet allows individuals to be connected to a huge participant base. people are able to find other who share their interests and wacky ideas. in a group setting people can rationalize almost anything they want - there are others like me, i'm not crazy.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
sun!
it is finally sunny again! the beautiful weather makes me want to sit in the sun all day long. unfortunately i have to finish all the work i have left in my college career this week. on the up side its only one thesis, one paper and one project. wish me luck.
Monday, April 23, 2007
virtual worlds....
virtual worlds are a totally new social space. the interaction and behavior that occurs in these new online spaces is interesting from so many different perspectives. i have always thought the space itself has the potential for great experimentation. a discussion about the ethics of online experimentation probably deserves a separate post - so i won't really get into it here. the interesting natural systems that occur in real life could be replicated online. economics is one these interesting areas where research is already being done. if we can predict the outcome of natural systems it implies that we understand how to model that system on some level.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
friendship strength
i have been trying to decide what would be the best way to measure the strength of online friendships. frequency of messaging or posting? its obvious that some friendships are stronger then others....but what can you really say about friendship strength from frequency of communication. i probably talk to some people more then i do my best friends but im not really sure that says anything. in online communities friendship strength would help to determine the balance of strong and weak connections in the network. is this balance the same in FtF communities?
Friday, April 20, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
catch up...
well i guess its time to play catch up....with my second thesis due on friday it should be a fun weekend. i guess i will have to start writing some more personal posts. but for now i think im going to take a nap.
Monday, April 16, 2007
thesis presentation..
For anyone interested...i am presenting my sts thesis tomorrow.
When: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Where: The Ena Thompson Room (Crookshank 108) at Pomona College
PS there will be yummy desserts.
When: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Where: The Ena Thompson Room (Crookshank 108) at Pomona College
PS there will be yummy desserts.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
the mother of all social networking sites..
i didn't know this existed but i guess its very new. still i cant help but wonder if something like this is appealing. personally i like having different spaces for different things - it makes it more interesting.
SocialURL.com
SocialURL.com
interesting stuff
as you can probably tell i've been doing a little thesis research and thought i would share some of the articles and news i found interesting...
Battle of the social networking sites
Battle of the social networking sites
Facebook Focus Group
Facebook has a new group called Facebook Sneak Preview that is the social-networking equivalent of a focus group. The Facebook team will be showing off screenshots of upcoming Facebook features to get feedback to potentially avoid another user backlash like the one that came with the news feed privacy hullabaloo of 2006.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
back from break
well, back from break where of course i didnt get as much done as i would have liked. but it was a good break. and these next few weeks are going to be some of the busiest of the year. so here we go..
Thursday, March 1, 2007
haha...
found this on one of the discussion boards i was looking at:
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
part of my thesis...
This is a section of my thesis that I thought would provide some background for future discussions of virtual communities.
One of the founding texts in the history of community theory was written by German sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies in 1887. His work Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft presents a sociological theory of community by making a distinction between community and society. His idea of Gemeinschaft (community) was based on the subjective or essential will of the members. That is, its very existence is based on the consciousness of belonging together and the affirmation of mutual dependence. This shared togetherness results from the essential will, in which individual members see themselves as means to serve the goals of the group.
This characterization makes Gemeinschaft fundamentally different from Gesellschaft. For Tonnies Gesellschaft (society) is a grouping based on rational or arbitrary will. This type of group refers to purposefully types of relationships. Rational will is characterized by an individual seeing the social group a a means to further his individual goals. Therefore, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft are essentially opposite in terms of an individual’s means for becoming part of a social group. Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft are each characterized by different, mostly opposite, components, as seen below. [1]
Gemeinschaft
• strong identity with community
• emotionalism/sentiment
• traditionalism
• holistic relationships with other members
• Example: families, neighborhoods
Gesellschaft
• no identification with community
• affective neutrality
• legalism
• segmental conceptions of other members
• Example: company, state in modern society
The distinction between and Gemeinschaft (community) and Gesellschaft (society) represents and important foundation for understanding for community theory and community studies. The ideal distinction, however, is never completely seen in practice; most social groups a a combination of the two ideals.
[1] Dr. Cindy Jardine. Introduction to community studies. Dept. of Human Ecology, University of Alberta,
2006.
One of the founding texts in the history of community theory was written by German sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies in 1887. His work Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft presents a sociological theory of community by making a distinction between community and society. His idea of Gemeinschaft (community) was based on the subjective or essential will of the members. That is, its very existence is based on the consciousness of belonging together and the affirmation of mutual dependence. This shared togetherness results from the essential will, in which individual members see themselves as means to serve the goals of the group.
This characterization makes Gemeinschaft fundamentally different from Gesellschaft. For Tonnies Gesellschaft (society) is a grouping based on rational or arbitrary will. This type of group refers to purposefully types of relationships. Rational will is characterized by an individual seeing the social group a a means to further his individual goals. Therefore, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft are essentially opposite in terms of an individual’s means for becoming part of a social group. Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft are each characterized by different, mostly opposite, components, as seen below. [1]
Gemeinschaft
• strong identity with community
• emotionalism/sentiment
• traditionalism
• holistic relationships with other members
• Example: families, neighborhoods
Gesellschaft
• no identification with community
• affective neutrality
• legalism
• segmental conceptions of other members
• Example: company, state in modern society
The distinction between and Gemeinschaft (community) and Gesellschaft (society) represents and important foundation for understanding for community theory and community studies. The ideal distinction, however, is never completely seen in practice; most social groups a a combination of the two ideals.
[1] Dr. Cindy Jardine. Introduction to community studies. Dept. of Human Ecology, University of Alberta,
2006.
Monday, February 12, 2007
construction of identity
while pondering what to write in my next post, i have been thinking a lot about the construction of identity in online communities. i was reminded of a chapter i read earlier in the year as part of my thesis research and i though i would share some of the intersting points made by the author, Manuel Castells.
"Identity is the source of meaning and experience."
Castells describes many of the different building materials used in the construction of identity, including biology, history, reproductive institutions, collective memory, and personal fantasies. what i find particularly interesting about Castells's analysis is that he places identity construction within a framework of "social determinations and cultural projects that are rooted in their social structure, and in their space/time framework."
if identity construction is specific to a certain space/time we must consider the effect of networked society and the internet on individual construction of identity. indeed Castells remarks that "because networked society is based on the systemic disjunction between the local and the global for most individuals and social groups" it has changed the process on identity construction and introduced new forms of social change.
identity construction is affected in many ways by the communities one belongs to. as such, the community structure, what we now think of as a social network or an online community, not only affects identity construction, but it fundamentally changes the way individuals interact within a community.
Reference: Castells, Manuel. "The Power of Identity" Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1997.
"Identity is the source of meaning and experience."
Castells describes many of the different building materials used in the construction of identity, including biology, history, reproductive institutions, collective memory, and personal fantasies. what i find particularly interesting about Castells's analysis is that he places identity construction within a framework of "social determinations and cultural projects that are rooted in their social structure, and in their space/time framework."
if identity construction is specific to a certain space/time we must consider the effect of networked society and the internet on individual construction of identity. indeed Castells remarks that "because networked society is based on the systemic disjunction between the local and the global for most individuals and social groups" it has changed the process on identity construction and introduced new forms of social change.
identity construction is affected in many ways by the communities one belongs to. as such, the community structure, what we now think of as a social network or an online community, not only affects identity construction, but it fundamentally changes the way individuals interact within a community.
Reference: Castells, Manuel. "The Power of Identity" Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1997.
Friday, February 9, 2007
...dick in a box
In my "spare" time today I was of course browsing my friends' profiles on Facebook. Their most recent addition: the ability to give a "gift" to a friend. The various gift include everything from a thong to a troll, but what struck me the most was the box with a hole. For those who haven't seen the popular SNL video my dick in a box, this gift is straight out of the music video - a popular one indeed on YouTube.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1dmVU08zVpA
What strikes me about this is the place of the Internet in popular culture. Without the mass distribution of popular media that is made possible via the Internet, there is no way this symbol of popular culture could have permeated social culture as is has.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1dmVU08zVpA
What strikes me about this is the place of the Internet in popular culture. Without the mass distribution of popular media that is made possible via the Internet, there is no way this symbol of popular culture could have permeated social culture as is has.
Monday, February 5, 2007
questions to consider
as i said before this blog is for an anthropology class, life online. the class has an even bigger interest to me because i am writing one of my senior theses on essentially the same topic. i thought i would post some of the questions i have been thinking about in formulating my thesis. they are as follows....
While the main question of interest is to decide whether ICT's and CMC allow individuals to expand their social networks and the consequences of this new idea of community. One must also consider a number of related or illucidating questions as well. Some of these additional questions are outlined below.
What is community? What are the values of community? Do we need community? (theoretical discussion)
Do internet communication technologies (ICT's) create community? Are there specific communities that exist now that couldn't have before the advent of ICT's?
Does computer-mediated communication (CMC) allow people to expand social networks? Do the size of people social networks grow with internet use? Does it specifically expand the number of strong or weak ties in a person's social network?
Is CMC replacing face-to-face interaction and/or redefining community? Do people with high ICT use still participate in local community? How has the definition of community changes with the advent of the internet?
What about participation in online communities is highly desirable for some people?
Do online social networks resemble real world networks? Do they exhibit the same characteristics?
What are the consequences of using technology as a means of social interaction? Do people question their use of technology as a means of communication?
While the main question of interest is to decide whether ICT's and CMC allow individuals to expand their social networks and the consequences of this new idea of community. One must also consider a number of related or illucidating questions as well. Some of these additional questions are outlined below.
What is community? What are the values of community? Do we need community? (theoretical discussion)
Do internet communication technologies (ICT's) create community? Are there specific communities that exist now that couldn't have before the advent of ICT's?
Does computer-mediated communication (CMC) allow people to expand social networks? Do the size of people social networks grow with internet use? Does it specifically expand the number of strong or weak ties in a person's social network?
Is CMC replacing face-to-face interaction and/or redefining community? Do people with high ICT use still participate in local community? How has the definition of community changes with the advent of the internet?
What about participation in online communities is highly desirable for some people?
Do online social networks resemble real world networks? Do they exhibit the same characteristics?
What are the consequences of using technology as a means of social interaction? Do people question their use of technology as a means of communication?
Friday, January 26, 2007
here we go
i have started this blog for an anthro class i am taking at pitzer college. it will be an experiment of sorts but hopefully someone will find the topic as interesting as i do. on that note please enjoy the pink overload until i find something more to my taste.
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