RearViewMirror - Objects in mirror are closer than they appear

Reflections of a Stranded Nomad:

When I started the Digital Cultures module in October 2009, I had little idea what to expect; I had no preconceived notions of what it might entail, no knowledge of the subject, but was happy to jump on the rollercoaster and see where it might take me!

As the module progressed, however, I found myself swathed in information. Much of it baffled me, and far from my understanding growing, I became introverted and filled with self-doubt.

What is Digital Cultures? I still have little or no clue!

I can, however, say that a mild light has recently decided to switch on in my thinking! I am no closer to being able to specifically pigeon-hole the subject, but this is my own personal revelation:

Digital Cultures isn't just about technological advancements, the web and multimedia. It isn't about being technically minded (although I suspect it is an advantage!).

Digital Cultures is an open-ended cautionary tale. It has taught me to question the ubiquitous nature of a digital world.

We cannot stop it, but we can be reminded that these daily activities that now form such a part of our lives were not here 20 years ago.

I have immeasurable respect for the people who have worked so hard to shape a future which shares many benefits; the freedom of information, access to knowledge, the opportunity for people, irrespective of cultural background, to be equal.

But there is a darker side, one that I had never really questioned; These screens reflect our digital selves, forever.

I am pretty sure that I will happen upon this blog at some point in the future with a degree of fondness and shame in equal measures. Fondness at the grappling of a "new" subject, but shame that it never really clicked in the way I would have liked it to.

We are all unique, and this subject experience has been unique. There is every possibility that the Digital Cultures buzz word will disappear into the ether in a couple of years, and I will be left to try and explain what it was!


"To start press any key. Where's the AnyKey?"
Homer Simpson

Rear V Mirror

Going Global -

The Global Village is perhaps now a Global Metropolis?



"The Global Village is a world in which you ... have extreme concern with everybody elses business and much involvement in everybody elses life."

Marshall McCluhan

What makes us, us? Like a neighbour poking their head through the curtains, we now live our lives open to scrutiny and surveillance. No longer is there the requirement to gossip in the local village shop. Our very thoughts and movements are just a click away.

We can acknowledge the huge impact the Digital Revolution has had on our culture, politics and business, but what of the psychological affects? Have we lost our sense of reality, or have we altered and adapted?

Generation Web.

There is now a generation who only know a life online.

Far from the intimacy evoked by the term "Global Village", this spiralling community can be daunting, alienating and lonely.

So it has been established through the lectures of Digital Culture's impact on our lives, but where is Globilization taking us?

Perhaps one of the really frightening aspects of this module. We are alone......

Decode: Digital Design Sensations - V&A

I cannot live the Twitter version of my life any longer, so decided to venture out to the V&A to see the Decode Exhibition.

"Digital technologies are providing new tools for artists and designers. Innovative, often interactive, displays use generative software, animation and other responsive technologies to instill 'live' element into contemporary artworks. Some works exist in a state of perpetual evolution; others are altered by the behaviour of th spectator"

Decode

Previously in the year, our group was set this question: Can a computer critique art?

I think, at the time, I totally missed the point. Why use the yardstick to measure a new form of art? The whole nature of art is it's ability to develop and change. Surely digital art provides a platform to create things that have never been seen before; new visions of creativity?

I Am Mine? Disaggregation

If the web is a galaxy, you can see it is dominated by a handful of megabrands. But how do you target the individual and share the opportunity?

The future appears to be Disaggregation - dividing and singling out smaller sub-groups and specifically marketing to them. Social Networking and Search Engines have opened up the opportunity to target these specific groups.

Is the danger then that the individual becomes the marketing opportunity? The web is no longer a faceless community.

For all the talk of opportunity, is the real question that the megabrands still hold the real financial power? Crowdsourcing and Free Labour allow the megabrands to get the consumer to do their work without providing the financial reward to the creators.

I'd rather be Free?

The darker side of the web includes the ability to be followed in every walk of life.


Complacency has lead us to live in glass houses. I, for one, never question that every action I take on the web amounts to Free Labour. The information I search, the infomation I provide, the questions I ask are all monitored. Big Brother may not necessarily be monitoring me on CCTV 300 times a day, but I self-survey possibly that many times a day without realising.


Sleepwalking through my daily life, I give details of my location as I Tweet and status updates on my activities via Social Networking.


I provide databases with all the details through my indelible datatrail.



Looking at where this may take us, I happened upon the website foursquare.com. This new site allows you to apparently connect with people in your location. Through this, we provide specific details of our activities, targetted advertising and our daily movements. Are we now allowing ourselves to be stalked by Big Brother?



The web may have provided us with immortality, but is this really what we want? A drunken night you may choose to forget may permanently follow you for the next 30 years.

Perhaps freedom's veil is now so transparent, that we have nowhere to hide.

Who has the power?

DS Attacks! Cyberwarfare

In a previous post, I have mentioned Hacktivism and touched upon cyberwarfare.
http://viciousindigo.blogspot.com/2009/11/weapon-of-choice-who-controls-internet.html

There, I looked to question who controls the internet - an answer which still eludes me!



Virtual Revolution (Open Source Documentary). Cost of Free

Cyberwarfare is now even on the curriculum for US soldiers - the threat is acknowledged, and governments look to prevent it.

Is, however, the real threat not cyberwarfare but the threat to the individual? Personal information is currency.

Packet Sniffing & Astrosurfing

This week's lecture covered Packet Sniffing & Astrosurfing.........

Open Source Movement - Open the Sauce

The open source movement is a broad-reaching movement comprised both officially and unofficially of individuals that feel that software should be produced altruistically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_movement

Flying in the face of the big money-making software companies, lies the Open Source Movement. Wikipedia itself is a good example of Open Source - providing the Global Community the scaffolding to build upon an original idea.

Another fantastic example of the Open Source Movement is the BBC's recent documentary series, The Virtual Revolution.

"A free culture is one where all members are free to participate in its transmission and evolution, without artificial limits on who can participate or in what way."
http://freeculture.org/

MashUp & Copyleft

“Consumers are now the creators.”




MashUp – What is the issue?







Fair Use – Maybe! This whole blogpost is a mashup of the amazingly talented creators online. I can only hope that they consider my use of their creative talents as fair use!

You are the people who make the web.
Vindigo!

Big Brother, Little Brother - The whole family is watching you

Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent for The Independent wrote in 2006:
“Britain has sleepwalked into becoming a surveillance society”.

The argument for how many times the average person is caught on CCTV as they go about their delay business is much debated. Some reports have indicated that it could be as high as 300 times per day, but on investigation, there appear to be critics who question this number. Whatever the true number may be, it only takes a moment to look around your surroundings to establish that there are a large number of lenses watching you.

Reports recently have revealed an alarming new trend in surveillance. A high-school in Pennsylvania reportedly provided students laptops with webcams that could be remotely accessed. A case has been brought against the school after one of it’s pupils was disciplined for “improper behaviour in his home”.
http://craphound.com/robbins17.pdf

There is equally another side to the question of privacy and surveillance: Why do we so freely self-survey? Social networking and blogging show how increasingly we feel comfortable to share details of our everyday movements with the public.

Whether good or bad, it is now inevitable that we share our image.

Happy V Day!

Game of Life?

Following on from last week’s presentation on the Aesthetics of Digital Literature, guest speaker, Steve Conway, gave an in depth presentation on Games Studies.

I will be the first to admit that the concept of “Gaming” scares me – not for any moral reason, just principally I am very bad at it! Computer games, far from giving me a feeling of immersion, tend to make me both nauseous and sleepy!

Discussing cultural historian, Johan Huizinga’s, 1938 book, Homo Ludens, Conway introduced the concept of “Play Theory”.

Although Video Gaming has a relatively short history in the scheme of “Play”, it often follows the same principles; the “Magic Circle”, “temporary worlds, within the ordinary world”, are something that people can universally understand.

But what is the cultural impact of online gaming? The “Magic Circle” now encompasses the Global Village; how does cultural identity affect the way we now play?

This is a question I will look to approach in a later blogpost.

The immersive nature of online gaming - the draw of online worlds which almost mirror our own, but with the safety of not leaving your front door, not having to physically interact. The temporary worlds are now blurring with the real, and Gaming maybe something we all have to entertain in the future as a part of social integration?

Perhaps with the crack down on adult content in Second Life and similar MMORPG’s, maybe it’s time to return to Gaming in the “ordinary world”?
http://www.secondlifeupdate.com/news-and-stuff/no-more-sex-in-second-life-linden-lab-cracks-down-on-adult-content/

I leave you with The Onion’s piece on Warcraft allowing Gamers to play a character playing Warcraft!


'Warcraft' Sequel Lets Gamers Play A Character Playing 'Warcraft'

I'm going to dust off my ZX Spectrum Plus!

V out!

The Death of my Understanding....!

Our lecture explored the aesthetics of digital literature.

This particular presentation was incredibly indepth and I must admit to being somewhat overwhelmed by the wealth of information provided to us.

I have spent some time this week trying to grasp what digital literature, and indeed digital culture is.

Considering the details of the lecture and, in particular, Roland Barthes quote, "the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the author", I started to explore the subject matter.

To assist with my understanding, I ventured onto our lecturer, Dr Gavin Stewart's "computer-mediated textual art work" Homecoming.
http://www.gavinstewart.net/homecoming/homecoming.html

I investigated various other sources from D&D to Wikis - non-linear texts that have a history of interaction.

What is Digital Cultures: is it the study of "New Media" (ouch, yes I said it!), Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology, Literature, Art - I'm still not sure - perhaps I am more unsure now than I have ever been!

One thing I do know is I'm certainly not going to jump off this roller coaster just yet!

Perhaps the aesthetics of digital literature allow me the opportunity to review this post, and heavily edit it tomorrow!

V tired - Night!

One final thing: Picture of Roland Barthes not smoking (although I am suspicious that he may be concealing a cigarette in his book!)