New Media

A student's take on the world of new media.

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FOR GOOD OR EVIL, BECOME A TURKER!

As a uni student, it’s a given that I’m poor and in need of a second job.

So when I heard about Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, I thought I’d hit the jackpot.

  HITs results:

 (Survey, 10-20minutes, $0.50)

So that’s an hourly rate of pay of... $1.50.  

           I think I’ll start a lemonade stand instead.  

             Wait a minute! I scrolled down to find a HIT worth $19!

Task: Make a brand new male or female dating profile.

       I just couldn’t do it to all of those fifty-somethings genuinely looking for love, companionship and candlelit dinners.

            These results raise the question- Are systems like Mechanical Turk productive or just plain exploitative?

  Users are often paid well below minimum wage.  The extent of what they are creating, developing or endorsing is never made certain.

For these reasons it can be argued that this current coordination is an “exploitation of ignorance” and “violation of (users’) autonomy” (Zittrain 2009).

             Even so, there is no denying that the concept of online ‘crowd sourcing’ provides positive possibilities for advancement.

When explorer Steve Fossett disappeared in 2007, GoogleEarth and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk joined forces to aid search efforts with an “army of online volunteers” (Friess 2007).

          The notion of Mechanical Turk is in its infant stages.  My hope is that it is still in the process of deciphering right from wrong. 

It has the potential to be a well behaved, beneficial and productive member of techno-ciety.

           In the meantime, instead of refreshing Facebook every 30seconds, I might as well earn an extra 50cents.

         FURTHER READING:

How Mechanical Turk systems can be used for good:

50,000 Volunteers Join Distributed Search for Steve Fossett- Full Article.

        REFERENCES:

Friess, S. 2007.  “50,000 Volunteers Join Distributed Search for Steve Fossett.”  Wired, November 11.   Accessed April 18th, 2011.  Available http://www.wired.com/software/webservices/news/2007/09/distributed_search

Zittrain, J. 2009.  “Minds for Sale.”  YouTube Video, posted November 29th.  Accessed April 18th, 2011.  Available http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw3h-rae3uo

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ORIGINAL PRANKSTER

Every year I’m a little wary on April 1.  I don’t expect to be pranked; it’s never happened before and to be honest, I don’t think anyone I know could be bothered...

Other than my search engine that is.

After ten years of April Fools Day jokes, Google did not disappoint in 2011 with their ‘new development’ in email services.  Gmail Motion fooled thousands around the world into dancing and signalling away their email replies.

      If it’s on the internet, it’s right...right?

  When addressing the 2008 Digital Economy Forum in Melbourne, Intel Director of User Experience Genevieve Bell acknowledged technology’s ability to fuel consumers’ lies and secret keeping practices. 

Bell presented the statistic that “sixty percent of (people) in the room (had) lied about (their) whereabouts using (their) mobile phone in the last six months”.

  SIXTY PERCENT?  That’s a bit much isn’t it?

But think about all of those hacked status updates, fake facebook check-ins and let’s face it, Wikipedia in general.

The lies and falsehoods are just too easy to upload and subsequently disown.

  “The greater the distance to potential victims, the more readily will people inflict harm that they would refrain from in face-to-face situations” (Hamelink 2006; 117).

    So, can we stop the lies?

It is impossible to control people lying in real life and it seems even harder in the online world where users can simply disconnect from their actions.

Just like we would in face-to-face situations, it is up to individuals to decide what online content to believe and reject.

Every time we sign in, we have the choice whether or not to play the April Fool.

  FURTHER READING:

Google April Fools Day pranks- Article.

  REFERENCES:

Bell, G. (2008). "Digital Economy Forum: Presentation by Dr Genevieve Bell (Intel)."  YouTube Video, posted April 28.  Accessed 11 April, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE6QWUKIP5M

Hamelink, C. (2006).  The Ethics of the Internet: Can we cope with lies and deceit on the net? In Ideologies of the Internet.  K Sarikakis & Daya Thussu. New Jersey: Hampton Press.

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Oblivious Addicts

This morning I woke up to the alarm on my iPhone.  I coordinated my uni travel plans with friends via a flurry of short texts.  The rolling news coverage on the bus stop screens took me to Libya.  My iPod kept the bus trip entertaining.  Once at uni, I connected to Blackboard and discovered I had assessment due in two weeks. 

All this and it was only 8am.

  Last week, blogger Jordana commented on the excessive new media usage that goes unnoticed in our lives each day.

After reviewing merely two hours in my average morning, I felt like a bit of a geek.  Had I really been wired in that whole time?

   This new existence has been described as a “mediapolis”, where media technologies are seen to “underpin and overarch the experiences and expressions of everyday life” (Deuze 2011, 137). 

Deuze (2011, 138) states that “our life is lived in, rather than with, new media” and we are becoming increasingly unaware of its presence.

  It’s all too easy to download an app that helps you get dressed in the morning.  As Genevieve Bell (2006, 48) acknowledges, “cell phones are pagers, notice boards, answering machines, fridge front doors and bedside tables”.

Even memorising the lyrics to a cover song appears to be too hard for music artists these days- Ben Drew from Plan B can be seen singing lyrics off his iPhone.  

    But it seems we have forgotten an important fact here:

Although our lives remain constantly connected, we are still in the driving seat.

Are we becoming too dependent on new media to get us through the day?  Or is it just a helpful tool that should be embraced?

  Either way, it may be too late to back out now.

      Further Reading: Time Magazine explores the multitasking media generation- Full Article.

References:

Bell, G. 2006. The Age of the Thumb: a Cultural Reading of Mobile Technologies from Asia. Knowledge, Technology and Policy. Summer 2006. Volume 19, No 2.

Deuze, M. 2011. Media Life. In Media, Culture and Society. Volume 33, Issue 1.

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IF YOU HAVE NOTHING NICE TO SAY, SAY NOTHING AT ALL?

It has been argued that the invention of the printing press “democratized Europe by providing space for discussion and agreement among politically engaged citizens” (Habermas quoted in Shirky).

  Fast forward nearly five hundred years and it seems new media is fulfilling the same role.  Shirky (2011) refers to social media as potential “long-term tools that can strengthen civil society and the public sphere”.

Members of the public are free to discover, review and comment on political matters with just the click of a button, facilitating discussion and the sharing of knowledge.

However, sometimes this new freedom of broadcasted speech can lead to anything but a “civil society”. 

  Recently, Australian soldiers were condemned for posting racist videos and comments on their personal facebook accounts (full story).

Having identified themselves as representatives of the Defence Force and Australia, the comments intended to be expressed as individual beliefs were portrayed as reflections of a greater people.

Not only have these personal comments threatened the soldiers’ careers, but also the relationship between two countries (Sara 2011).

A question arises- where do we draw the online line as to what opinions and truths can and can’t be shared?

  Fail safe rule: If you wouldn’t stand in front of an audience and say it, don’t post it. 

Nasty schoolyard comments that offend and reverse intelligent discussion are pointless.  Whether said by individuals or politicians, there is no need for a global broadcast.

    Civil and polite debate rules supreme.

    Further Reading:

Former defence chief General Peter Cosgrove urges people to think of soldiers’ everyday actions in protecting Afghanis, rather than Facebook antics alone- Full Article.

How will this affect the Australian relationship with the Afghani people?- Full Article.

    References:

Sara, S. 2011. “Facebook racism will ‘destroy trust’ in Afghanistan.” ABC News, March 26.  Accessed March 28, 2011.  http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/26/3174356.htm?section=justin

Shirky, C. 2011. The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change, in Foreign Affairs. Volume 90, Issue 1.

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IMAGE ON-THE-GO

7am on a Monday morning and I’m packed onto a crowded bus bound for the city.  The sneaky, over the shoulder glance at what the person in front of you is reading, texting or playing on their iPhone becomes routine behaviour.

I’d already eyed off an attractive, broad shouldered boy in front of me, when he pulled out his iPod.

Enrique Iglesias?

Safe to say it’s not what I expected.

And I will admit- a boy listening to the lovesick tunes of Hero was a little off putting.

  “PLAYLIST IS CHARACTER”

Steven Levy states in his book The Perfect Thing: How the iPod shuffles commerce, culture and coolness (2006, 23) that “Playlist is Character.”

Acting as a “window to the soul”, the iPod has been acknowledged as a “powerful identity technology” (Vargas 2005).

New media platforms facilitate the availability and portability of music, allowing users to simultaneously customise and promote an identity through their iPod. 

When you expose your playlist, you are divulging your personal choices that reflect character, tastes, values, culture, history and memories (Vargas 2005).

No longer a private experience, the music on your iPod is judged almost as easily as the clothes you wear.

  It has become natural to make immediate evaluations.  It happens all the time, even to unsuspecting bus boys.

  The lesson to come from this?

Take Enrique off shuffle and save him for home.

    Celebrities exposing their musical identities:

Guitarist Slash sticks with his rock god image with choices including Led Zeppelin and Metallica (above).

Surf champion Kelly Slater portrays his relaxed, beach identity through similar artists Jack Johnson and Ben Harper (below).

Further Reading:

- The iPod: A Love Story Between Man, Machine

- What Your Playlist Says About You

REFERENCES:

Levy, S. 2006. The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Vargas, J. A. 2005. "The iPod: A Love Story Between Man, Machine." The Washington Post, August 17.  Accessed March 21, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/16/AR2005081601887.html

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You can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends.

  It seems this classic saying just doesn’t cut it anymore. 

The rise of social media sites, such as Facebook, allows users to craft their personal networks into a favourable, little bundle.  With just the click of a mouse, it seems all too easy to disown your mother or slightly weird second cousin from your online life.   

    It has become a ruthless world out there.

    So why do we do it?  Is allowing them a look into our online personas such a risk?

It has long been accepted that “identity is faceted”; we each have different interests, beliefs, values and behaviours that we expose to different people (Donath, J. and Boyd, D. 2004; 74). 

People have previously had the ability to portray suitable identities from their mixed bag when connecting with particular people. 

Never did we think 600 of our closest contacts would be in the same room at once, watching our every move. 

But unless we have nude pictures, drunken pictures or even nude, drunken pictures in our profile photos album, does it matter whether our boss, grandmother or friend sees it?

    Caught out?

    Mark Zuckerberg states in David Kirkpatrick’s The Facebook Effect (2010) those times have changed, with social networking media demanding integrity from its users.

  "You have one identity... The days of you having a different image for your work friends or co-workers and for the other people you know are probably coming to an end pretty quickly... Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity."

The question becomes- Are you comfortable enough with your online identity to embrace this? 

Do we click ignore on that friend request because we are scared that certain people may expose us as frauds, or even believe falsehoods they see in a status update?

It’s a frightening thought that maybe we don’t uphold the same values and practices in every context. 

     REFERENCES:Donath, J. and Boyd, D. (2004). Public Displays of Connection. BT Technology Journal, volume 2 (4).

  Kirkpatrick, D. (2010). The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company that is Connecting the World. Simon & Schuster.