Class Reflection

Well, this semester and year has finally come to an end. Although, I do not know if using the word finally is appropriate considering this year flew by. This class, Electronic Communications, really opened my eyes up to my own habits of CMC. I did not realize that so many of the technologies that I use have become invisible technologies. Until this class I did not even know what invisible technologies were. I can definitely say that I used to take for granted many of the technologies that I use each and ever day. I still think that I take them for granted here and there, but definitely not as much as I used to, thanks to this class. I also learned what anonymity was and how often I’ve used it and have seen others use it through CMC. This class has made me more aware of several ideas and thoughts pertaining to CMC. When I watch T.V or movies, I am constantly picking out things and relating them to the ideas that I’ve learned in class.

There were some things that I learned that just shocked me. I had no idea that there was such a thing as a digital divide. I am so culturally challenged and sheltered in the United States, that I did not know so many people are without the use of technology. I was also unaware of the inequalities that took place online. It’s normal to hear about the inequalities of every day offline life, but I had never heard of inequalities of every day online life. It goes to show just how much CMC is becoming more like FtF communication and interaction.

Because of this class, I have made some changes to the way I communicate using technology. I try to use technology less. I no longer IM my friend who lives right down the hall or downstairs from me. I also have tried to use fewer acronyms in my communication. I try not to confront people through IM because I do not believe that is the right way to go about a problem. Now that I know more about aggression and online flaming, I feel that talking to a person FtF to solve an issue or problem is a better choice than confronting a person online. Other than those few changes, I have not really changed anything else about the way I use technology. I, of course, still text message constantly and talk to my friends and family from home through e-mail and IM.

I feel that I am definitely more knowledgeable on the subject of CMC. Because I am a communications major, I definitely feel that CMC will be a big part of my future career. Whether it is me informing people on the subject of CMC, or using CMC, I feel that I will be prepared to use CMC in an appropriate manner. Technology is only going to continue to advance, so I believe many people will continue to use or start to use CMC more often in the workplace. I would like to get into a career dealing with radio. I feel that with radio I will be using blogs and other social networks in order to promote the station and keep the public up-to-date with current events the radio station is doing. I feel that CMC is already a big part of my life, and the use of it will only continue to grow, especially through a career.

I think I learned a lot through this course. It is definitely my favorite course that I’ve taken so far in my college career. I learned several terms and ideas that I did not even know existed. I was able to take what I learned about CMC and apply it to my life and the way I communicated using CMC. As I said at the beginning of this post, this class definitely opened up my eyes to many things regarding CMC and technology. The course was a lot different than what I expected. I thought that it was going to be boring and a lot of reading and writing. I had no idea that there would be so much computer interaction. I liked the idea of setting up a blog and posting thoughts about the class. It was nice to read what others thought as well. I also really liked that the class had a website because it was easy to log on and see what the HW was and when it was going to be due. My favorite thing about the class was that many of the things we did, we were able to do on our own time. I liked that we had a week or a couple of days until something was due rather than it be due for the next class period. To conclude, this class was a great learning experience, and I would definitely recommend it to someone else.

"You've Got Mail"

I just want to start of by saying this is such a cute movie. I love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Ok but back to the education part of the movie. The movie hit on a lot of things that we discussed in class. Anonymity was a big part of the movie. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan did not know who each other were when they first met online in a chat room. Until Tom Hanks found out that it was Meg Ryan, there was a mutual agreement that they would not share too much personal information. There was acctually a part in the movie when Tom Hanks asked what her line of business was and she said "remember nothing personal." If it were not for anonymity online, I do not believe that they would have continued to chat online and form the relationship that they did. It also seemed as if they both a an addiction to the words "You've Got Mail." They both immediately checked their e-mail after their significant other left in the morning. There was also a part after Tom Hanks found out that it was Meg Ryan, and he could not resist going to his computer and writing back to her. This brings up the topic of online affairs that we discussed in class. Could Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks's relationship be considered an affair. I think that in a way they were cheating on their significant others because they would not check their e-mail while they were around and also ended up breaking up because of "the idea of someone else." There was also the use of symbolic markers in the movie. Their log on names can be considered as symbolic markers. There was the scene when Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were discussing what the 152 meant on his log in name. Her log in name was shopgirl which portrayed herself well because she owned a shop. Tom Hanks also did a little identity play in the movie. He pretended to be someone other than Joe Fox. He displayed different aspects of himself to Meg Ryan through their online communication. To conclude, the movie represents today online communication between two people fairly well. The way they met and how they built a relationships through CMC.

Reading for this week

So...I just finished reading the article that was assigned to us and the first thought that comes to my mind is interesting. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I first began reading the article, but I definitely was not expecting anything like it was. I am interested to know exactly how long her online relationship with Rob lasted because I don’t believe the article ever really mentioned it. The author went into a lot more detail than I expected. I was not expecting their relationship to become such a sexual and intimate one. I think that that was crossing the line BIG TIME. If the guy needed someone to talk to, he should have grabbed one of his buddies or kept it friendly with someone online. I don’t think that the author should have taken the relationship to the level she did knowing he was married. I found it interesting that she became emotionally attached to Rob and was basically having an online affair with him but continued to give him advice on how to fix his marriage. First, she gave Rob something to think about his marriage and how he can make it better. Then, she got upset when he decreased his amount of mailing, and then she told him her feelings to encourage him to think about her. I feel like she was being two-faced and hypocritical. I understand that she has a disability, but I don’t think that she needs to be spending so much time online. I think it would be physically and mentally healthier for her to spend less time online. Although, the article never went into detail of how severe her disability was other then the idea of her PC being voice activated incase she couldn’t type??? The concept of her disability was a little confusing to me. In all, I believe that online affairs are just as bad as real life in-person affairs. Although they never actually engaged in physical sexual activity, the author and Rob basically had a sexual relationship, replacing physical sex with cyber-sex. To be honest, I’m not a very good person to talk about online relationships and meeting strangers online because I just find it weird and un-natural. I know CMC is becoming a much bigger part of our everyday lives, but the ideas of online relationships and cyber-sex just really creeps me out. Meeting people online can be nice to make new friends and share common interests, but I just don’t understand how people get so into it and form intimate relationships!? It’s interesting that the internet has become a way for relationships and marriages to begin and a major cause for why relationships and marriages are ending.

You Tube

Sooo…I can’t stop thinking about the videos we watched in class the other day. I’m pretty sure I told all my friends about them. I just am shocked at how a group a strangers formed an online community all for one little girl. I think it’s amazing. At first when Mr. Corso told us that the mom had documented her daughter’s struggle with cancer, I thought it was a little odd and strange, but after watching the video it didn’t seem strange at all. I can’t believe how brave that little girl was. It made me think about how I over-react when I think I have a problem. That little girl was struggling with cancer and she was still laughing and telling jokes. I also thought it was a little weird for the lady to respond with a hugs for Jaycie campaign video. But once again, after watching the video and knowing that so many people responded, I think it’s pretty awesome. Without the use of video, the internet, and other technologies, none of that would have been possible. I think that posting videos is a great way for people to build a community or support groups. It is interesting how the internet can inspire people and form a bond between perfect strangers. I’m going to search you tube and watch some videos as soon as I’m done with this post…haha.

Continuing with Avatars

I really am just shocked about this avatar and virtual world idea. I had no idea that these things really existed until learning about them in class. I find it interesting that people really use these type of things. I thought that I was dependent on the internet and my computer a lot for instant messaging and e-mailing, but these people are addicted to it for their "made-up" virtual world. I just don't know why anyone would want to spend their time on there. It is good to be creative and use your imagination, but this is a little extreme. I'm sure some people get really into and lose their real life identity. I thought the idea was creepy to begin with, but now the idea that people make churches and are even bringing religion into it!!! Maybe I shouldn't knock it till I've tried it, but to be honest I do not ever see myself trying something like that. I just don't think that someone envolving themself in virtual worlds too much is very good for a person's real life social life.

Cultivating your online identity

I read over the article that Mr. Corso posted, and I found it interesting. I do not think that it is fair for people to discriminate a potential employee because of pictures they have posted from either high school or college. College is supposed to be a time for people to have fun and make social connections with different people. It is a place where people can make mistakes and learn from them. If we didn’t make mistakes now, then we wouldn’t learn any life lessons. We would also be in big trouble in the future when we got out into the real world. I think that a person should be hired strictly on their experience, grades, and their personality. So what if a person has a couple pictures of themselves online drinking with friends? I think that just as long as the pictures don’t contain any drugs or any extreme activities are taken place, that they should not affect their chances of getting a job. I’m sure many of those people who are searching for online content of potential employees have done the same exact thing at one point in their life. I mean don’t people always say, “live it up while you can!”?
On the other hand, I definitely agree with the fact that online blogging such as posting resumes are very useful. I never even knew it was possible to post your resumes online until I discovered RIC (Regional Internship Center). I recently joined the cite and a week after posting my resume, I received a phone call from a guy asking me to come in for an interview. I haven’t had my interview yet, but if I get the internship it will be for the summer. I definitely recommend that you guys check it out! ---> http://www.ric-swpa.org/index.html

Unit 3

I never thought of the concept of community as an online community. Whenever I think of community I normally think of my hometown. But after reading unit 3 I am more aware of how the term community can be interpreted. I also was interested to learn more about the term social network. I sometimes wonder what my life would be like with out the online social networks I'm apart of. I sure would have a lot more time on my hands, considering facebook and IM consume a lot of my online time. It's nice to have social networks. They help me to strengthen friendships by staying in touch, and also a great way to meet new people. I agree with the book when it says that "online communities are often offline communities that have come online." I realized that many of the people I communicate with online are people that I regulary communicate with FTF at home and at school. This unit was very insighting and interesting to read.

Culturally Challenged

Unit one of strand two brought to my attention over half of the world’s population has never made a telephone call and well over half have never engaged in CMC. This was very surprising to me. Due to the culture and country which I have lived in and known my whole life I was unaware to these statistics. I know I’ve talked about how I feel I tend to take CMC and technology for granted, but this has opened my eyes up to how much I really do take technology and CMC for granted. I feel culturally challenged (if that makes any sense). This makes me wonder how my children’s generation will view technology and CMC. I also wonder if there will be time when more of the world’s population will start using CMC. I am curious to how other countries that don’t use CMC communicate, and how their day to day activities differ from ours. I just recently went a whole week without the use of my computer or internet. I was in Florida for Spring Break, and while there I didn’t really think about not having the internet that much, but I also still had my cell phone as means as communication. Although I didn’t think about using the internet, the first thing I did when I returned home was log onto my computer and connected to the internet. It’s funny how the use of CMC can depend on a person’s environment at the time. This unit also brought to my attention the idea of online inequality. I didn’t realize that this was such an issue. I become more open minded and aware of what exactly CMC is and how it effects mine and others everyday lives every time I read another unit in this book.

Online Learning

This week of online classes or learning has been an interesting one. It was a lot easier than I thought. At first I was very skeptical to the idea. I did not really understand all the requirements. As dumb as this may seem, I actually had to read the directions several times before getting started. After I got the hang of it though, it wasn’t too bad. I found it interesting to see how everyone in the class interprets flaming and wiki’s. One thing that I particularly like about online learning is that I am able to take the time to read everyone’s thoughts and responses. In a classroom I am usually only able to hear a few people’s responses. It is also nice to receive feedback from other classmates on the responses that I give. I also enjoyed this week’s online experience because I learned about what a wiki is and became more aware of what flaming is and how other’s may interpret flaming. Lastly, the online group discussion is a new experience for me as well. I like being able to communicate with my group without actually having to meet them somewhere or through phone. One downfall of online group discussing is that sometimes not all members respond or touch base as often as others which makes it difficult to get the project rolling. For example, as of right now everyone in my group has responded with their list of which topic they like best except for one person. Therefore, one downside to online group discussions is that group members can be MIA for some time making it difficult for the others to continue. In all, I think this has been an interesting and valuable learning experience because with the growth of technology, I’m sure in the future I will continue to take part in activities similar to the ones in this class. I’m interested to see how the rest of this week pans out and how our group project comes together.

presentations

After listening to Jill’s presentation on Wednesday, I now have a much more positive outlook on the idea of online dating. Last week I responded to Katie’s blog saying I agreed with her thoughts of online dating. Most of these thoughts were negative ones. I realized that before I talk down on something I must first be educated on the subject, or have experienced or tried it myself. Although, I don’t think that I will ever use online dating, but who knows.
I liked listening to the presentations because I learned a lot. I think that it is a lot more beneficial and to gain information through a face to face presentation rather than just reading the articles myself. Reading can get boring, but listening to the presentations kept my interest and it made a lot more sense to me. Jamie helped me to understand her presentation by using visual aids, and the others used ‘real life’ scenarios to show examples of what they were talking about it. I believe that with learning, face to face communication is a lot more interesting and understandable. I don’t think that I would be a good candidate for online education. Although I find online education useful and interesting, I prefer to have face to face interaction with my professors and fellow classmates. It is just the way I prefer to learn.

Anonymity

The last unit we did really caught my attention with the idea of anonymity. I think it is an interesting topic to explore. Anonymity is the idea that people mask their identities through the internet. I know that I have used anonymity to my advantage in certain situations. If someone I do not know tries to communicate with me through the internet I will act like I’m someone else or just block them. Also I think the idea of anonymity can apply even if the person you are talking to knows who you are. It’s the idea that they can not see you through the computer so in a sense you feel invisible or anonymous. I tend to say things I wouldn’t usually say nor have the guts to say within an internet conversation than a FTF conversation. This happens especially when I’m arguing or fighting with someone over the internet. I feel a lot more comfortable saying my feelings because I am only typing them into the computer I am not actually FTF with someone. It also makes it easier not seeing how someone reacts or their facial expressions. I feel that anonymity gives me a sense of power and invisibility. In another sense, the use of anonymity can be dangerous. Popular sites such as MySpace, and Facebook, make it a lot easier for sexual preditors, or crazy people to harm others. We hear about this behavior just about everyday through the media. To conclude, in my opinion, anonymity can be a good or bad thing, depending on who and how it is being used.

Today Technology surrounds our world in so many ways. It seems as if its proficiency and population develops more and more each day. To many people, technology is efficient and highly useful to their everyday lives. I tend to find myself being sucked into buying or wanting newer versions of various technological items quite often. I feel that this technological boom has made me take several aspects of my life for granted. I also feel that I have become extremely dependent of many technological items that I own. I recently realized that I take for granted FTF communication. When I am at home I don’t talk to my family that often because I am either working, in my room watching TV or out with my friends. But it is nice to know that when I am home I can communicate FTF with my family anytime I want because we live in the same house. When I’m at school the only way I can communicate is through a computer or phone. It doesn’t hit me until I am away from home that I take being able to have FTF communication with my family while I am home for granted. This is something that I hope to work on in the future. Lastly, I believe that I am sometimes too dependent on technology. Some examples are:
If I lose or break my phone I feel completely distraught, lost, and just basically feel like I don’t know how to function. (ok that is a little extreme but I think you get the idea)
My I-Pod: If the battery is dead when I go to workout I get angry and blame the I-Pod battery for not lasting long enough, when in reality its my fault because I should have just taken the time to charge it.
Using different internet connections- I’m so used to the speed of the internet at school that when I go home to my dial-up internet I don’t even like to use it all that much because it annoys me since it’s so slow.
Thinking the internet will ALWAYS work- this has caused me problems before because there have been times when I hold off on doing HW that I need internet use for and then when I go to do it I am unable to connect to the internet.
To conclude, I think I need to work on not taking so many things for granted and not relying on so much technology so that I am able to make do if it is unavailable to me.

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