Enclosed is my group’s bibliography (Michele Aulenti, Jessica Fine, and Derek Varga). Our topic is Online Dating.

Michele Aulenti, Jessica Fine, and Derek Varga’s Bibliography

For a special treat and your viewing pleasure.

Below is my first and only audio post of this semester. I hope you all enjoy it!

Audio Post

In this year’s presidential campaign, the president’s campaign managers are doing something different to get votes. The difference is that this year they are using the World Wide Web. In this article, it talks about the how the presidential candidates are using the internet to get votes. The URL is here.

Watch this video about blogospheres and politics.

Here is an interesting article about the authors of “Naked Conversations”. There names are Robert Scoble and Shel Israel.

Article

What would you call a collection of information on all branches of knowledge? No, it is not in an encyclopedia. Instead people have written on the internet and it is called a blogosphere. I read the article, “Naked Conversations”, by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. Robert Scoble’s blog is called “Scobleizer” . Shel Israel’s blog is called “Global Neighbourhoods”. These articles broadened my understanding of what blogging is all about. For three out of my four courses this semester, I needed to develop a blog for as a class requirement, and I have to update each of these blogs at least twice a week. In these classes, we need to capture some type of “buzz” or “tagging” to our blogs from other blogs. “Blogs are loosely joined to each other through hyperlinks. Find one blog, you can probably spend hours clicking links from blog to blog to blog – many of which talk about ideas and theories and rants on other blogs. This linking means that any blogger who has something to say is part of a global network called the blogosphere” (Scoble, Israel 26). This is how authors and other users of blogs have found the blogs I have written and given their input about what I said in them. I want to know how people find blogs that are on the topics they are interested in? Do they spend a lot of time searching their topic?

Well, this is by becoming linkable, findable, and syndicatable.  Being linkable means “because each blog can link to all others, every blogger has access to millions of other bloggers” (Scoble, Israel 28). Being findable means “through search engines, people will find blogs by subject, by author, or both. The more you post, the more findable you become” (Scoble, Israel 28). Being syndicatable means “by clicking on an icon, you can get free “home delivery” of RSS-enabled blogs. RSS lets you know when a blog you subscribe to is updated, saving you search time. This process is considerably more efficient than the last-generation method of visiting one page of one web site at a time looking for changes” (Scoble, Israel 28). Now, you might be asking yourself what is a RSS? The definition of an RSS can be found here.  When I read this section of the article, I thought about adding my blog to other types of search engines to be able to receive more “tags” and “buzz” so I added my blog to Technorati and to Google Blog Search. Now I will see if I get more “buzz” on my blog. I really is exciting when someone “tags” you because you then know that have read what you wrote.

Google’s Ascendancy

While I am on the topic of Google. “Every time you post, Google notices and that boosts your ratings. Google also pays attention to links – other sites that connect to you. Bloggers who find what you write interesting will post on their own sites and link back to you” (Scoble, Israel 29). Google Blog Search and Technorati are pretty much the same when it comes to this. Both of these sites give you a rating of where you rank with other blogs and where your blog stands itself. The more “Google Juice”, “Tags” and “Buzz” you get, the better off you are going to be in the long run!

Talk is Cheap

No, really it is cheap. It is less than three dollars for unlimited calls. When I was back in high school, I used a program called Skype. I used this program to talk to my camp counselor in Israel and my friends from home instead of picking up the phone and dialing them since it would have cost more. It was a great service because you could talk on your computer and if you had a web cam, you could even talk to them on a microphone and see them in person like you are talking to them face -to- face. “Downloads of its free core service reached 25 million just 19 months after starting up, breaking ICQ’s benchmark record” (Scoble, Israel 35).  I have only used ICQ once but the sounds that it made were very distracting and at the time, I was not able to shut the sound off because my computer was an ancient Macintosh computer. That is why I stuck with Skype and I am still using it today.

Boing, Boing. No, it is not the sound that an old Macintosh Computer makes. “The biggest so far is Boing Boing, a pioneering site run by five former Wired editors and writers. By posting wittily, and more voluminously than almost any other blog – up to several times an hour – they built up a devoted audience of 1.7 million readers (Thompson, 33). It is mentioned in the article called “Blogs to Riches” written by Clive Thompson. His blog is called “Collision Detection”.  In this article, it ranked the top 50 blogs and the data was done by Technorati which is a website that I mentioned before that rates blogs by who links to their websites. I found it interesting that on the list of the top blogs, these are some of the ones that I go to every day: engadget, and the official google blog. I use the engadget blog to get more information about new technology or is soon to be coming out on the market. I use the official google blog to catch up on the news of the day. I found it interesting that both of these blogs were on the list of the top 50 blogs.

I found this mash up on youtube.com called “WoW: Super Mario Brothers”. I thought that this was related to the reading and my posting and combining my favorite video game and a popular virtual game in a video. I hope you enjoy it!

In Johan Hizinga’s article, “Nature and significance of play as a cultural phenomenon”, he said “play is in itself and what it means for the player” (Hizinga 2). Super Mario Brothers video game brings back a lot of childhood memories for me. When I played this video game with a bunch of my friends, some of which I am still friendly with today, they helped me learn how to get through the levels in the game that were difficult for me. Some of my friends were avid players and knew all the secret passageways and how to make it on to each new level and to finally try to beat the game. To this day, I still have not beaten the game. “They must play because their instinct drives them to it because it serves to develop their bodily faculties and their powers of selection” (Hizinga 8 ). When I sat down and played, I was completely wrapped up in the game and really channeled my energy into trying to make it to the next level and then to get to the highest level I could. Often times, I would get so caught up in the game that I ignored everything else around me, and I would not quit until I could beat the highest level I was on.

When I do my school work, I do the same thing. I am not satisfied until I get the homework done right and completed in a timely manner and have a product that I think will be satisfactory to the professor. “One is a Prince, or one is Daddy or a wicked witch or tiger. The child is quite literally “beside himself” with delight, transported beyond himself to such an extent that he almost believes he actually is such and such a thing, without, however, wholly losing consciousness of “ordinary reality” (Hizinga 14). One Thanksgiving, my little six year old cousin, Andrew, watched me play Super Mario Brothers. At the time, he was sitting right next to me. When I reached the end of the level, where you need to beat the dragon to be able to complete the level, my cousin got up off the floor and started to act like a dragon blowing fire at me. He tried to distract me from beating the level I was on. I do not think he realized he was also caught up in the game and was reacting to the action of what was happening. After I beat the level, I asked him what game he wanted to play. He said to me, “I want to play hockey”. I turned on the game and he started to play. After about five minutes in to the game, he started using the controller like it was a hockey stick and turning it back and forth and up and down. Then he started moving his feet back and forth like he was gliding on the ice. Again, this is an example of how a child can get so caught up in a game that and being apart of “ordinary reality”.

What is WoW? No, it is not the expression people use when they are impressed by something. It is a game called World of Warcraft. In Andrew Hinton’s  article called “We Live Here: Games, This Places and the Information Architecture of the Future”, it talks about this game called World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment and how “now has over six million subscribers – party due to its expansion in Asia” (Hinton 3). Andrew Hinton’s blog is called “Inkblurt”. “WoW is a goal-orientated game where players increase their character’s level and wealth through competition and quests, Blizzard knew that this framework alone wasn’t enough to keep people coming back” (Hinton 3).

One of my close friends from undergraduate school plays this game every day of her life for hours since this game came on the market. Every day, she makes at least one new character or avatar she uses to fight in competitions and in quests. She has over ten different names for each of her characters and each of her characters dresses in a certain way to describe her or something that she likes. When I was in undergraduate school, I didn’t know what WoW was until one day she sat me down at her computer and taught me what each of the tools do and how you can determine who to fight, what to wear and how to win. I didn’t like the game at all and never got caught up in playing it.

On the other hand, since I have been taking this course and hearing about the virtual world called “Second Life”, I started to realize why she is so addicted to the game.  “The players are responsible for creating almost everything” (Hinton 4). “Users have in-game tools for creating intricately designed avatars that can look like just about anything or anyone, and through activities in the game they can earn currency to purchase clothing, gadgets and points used for building items themselves” (Hinton 4). When I was playing this game, it makes me think of WoW on so many levels because you are in a virtual world making your own clothing, atmosphere and life style just like WoW does. 

When I was young, my father used to take me to the local card store and buy me a present for getting a good grade on an exam or for a good report card to boost my spirits. Guess what I got?! In the section called “Making Goods Scarce” in “The Experience Economy” article by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore, it mentions one of my favorites items of all times. They are Ty, Inc. Beanie Babies. “The privately held Oakbrook, Illinois, company that makes them, Ty, Inc., takes a number of steps to ensure the scarcity of these stuffed animals. It limits the total production of each cuddly creature, “retires” certain favorites, and restricts the availability of any single character at any single store or outlet. By making its goods scarce, Ty heightens the experience of having one” (Gilmore, Pine 19). I remember when I was younger around 1998, they had Beanie Baby trade shows come to my town. I went there with my dad, and you could bring your stuffed animals. You could sell some of the Beanies that were a hot item at the time and probably make a good profit. I usually did not sell any and would try to buy the retired Beanies for a low price because I knew later on they would probably be worth more money. To this day, I have over two-hundred Beanie Babies in plastic Ziploc bags with tag protectors on them to make sure they stay safe and protected. I do not know how much my collection is worth but I hope one day it will be worth over one thousand dollars. Some part of me thinks that I will never sell them because they are a part of my childhood memories and the wonderful times I spent with my dad collecting them. Also, I may want to pass them down to generations to come.

When I was doing this in Second Life assignment, it made me think of when I was younger and played the game , “The Sims”. There are a ton of similarities between The Sims and Second Life. First, you can create your own characters, which are also known as “Avatars”. Secondly, there are certain types of “Worlds” you can belong to such as Teen Style in The Sims or Teen Second Life in The Second Life. Third, in both of these software you can build your own clothes, buy food, and walk around and talk to other people. Finally, in both of these programs, the Avatars can show emotion to other players.

The differences between The Second Life and The Sims are that in The Sims, there is more music, more movements (sleeping, going to work) and an actual Sims Language between the players. In The Second Life, there is only a typing noise between the players when they are talking, and the characters can only walk around, sit, and fly.

Since I have played both of these programs, I really enjoyed The Sims over The Second Life because there is more action and more activities you can do with your Avatar. Has anyone else used either of these programs? If yes, what is your opinion?