Facebook Addiction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vej0QM5hITU

Reflecting on my blogging experience

With this blogging project I realize that it is not easy to write a good blog, and to write good comments. But through the process I have learnt a lot. I am given chances to get to know my classmates and get insights of new topics, such as Jenifer’s sharing on the tool issuu, and Kandice’s idea of banning re-share on Facebook, which I have never thought of. Also, to my surprise, I had no idea that Kitty likes digital games! (And I called myself your friend…)

I have also learnt how to make a better blog with the use of new media tools. A good book is mainly about an excellent plot and a good use of language. But a good blog is more than 2 elements. New media is not about regular status updates. To keep your readers’ attention, not only do you need an original and meaningful message, you also need to balance font style, font size, font colour, images, videos, emoticons :) …and more.

A good blog is also about consistency. Blog layout, profile, profile pic, background, font style, font colour, topics of the posts (and also tags)… Every single element contributes to building the image of your blog. To keep the group of readers following posts after posts, a consistent tone or theme is one of the important elements. Take Jezebel as an example, it is rated as one of the most powerful blogs by the Guardian because of its firm focus on women-related topics.

Blogging Tips From an Expert Blogger - Social Media/Web 2.0

But in the same time, I learn to be aware of the dangerous side of new media tools. We have to be careful of what new media tools bring us. Yes new media like Facebook is very convenient, but it is dangerous to be TOO convenient. Take this as an example:

I recently mocked a friend because Spotify revealed on his Facebook page that he was listening to the 2010 Ibiza Party Workout. (I accused him of being a metrosexual several years too late.) Turns out that he, like many others, had no idea Spotify shared every single tune to which he was listening, and we discussed whether this much sharing made sense. The answer is no today but yes tomorrow, because the future of social media depends on smarter tools that permit us to share more but consume less. 

from http://www.experiencetheblog.com/2011/10/future-of-social-media-data-vs.html by Augie Ray

If we don’t choose the tools carefully, we might fall into the trap and lose some of our private information, money, or even more. Recently in Hong Kong there was a rumour about LINE app by Naver and the privacy issue it has. A lot more examples can be found on the article Your Apps Are Watching You.

We have to be wise when choosing and using new media tools. And I think the best advice I can give is to gather knowledge of the tool before using it, and be aware of what private information you put on the web.

Image by cambodia4kidsorg

Comments I've made in:

King's blog 1

Jenifer's blog 1

Jenifer's blog 2

Kitty's blog 1

Kitty's blog 2

Kitty's blog 3

Gamestar Mechanics!

haha! The first game I've made:

In defense of online reading

Last winter my CCIV teacher challenged us on how many books we read throughout the semester. I really wanted to tell him, I read A LOT everyday. I am very addicted to reading but I never called myself a “bookworm”. Because what I read aren’t books, they are online novels.

Literacy Debate - Online, R U Really Reading?
Children are clearly spending more time on the Internet. In a study of 2,032 representative 8- to 18-year-olds, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly half used the Internet on a typical day in 2004, up from just under a quarter in 1999. The average time these children spent online on a typical day rose to one hour and 41 minutes in 2004, from 46 minutes in 1999.

The debate over online VS hardcopy literacy isn’t a new topic. But it is an issue I really wanted to discuss about. This is probably one of the reasons why I chose this course – I wanted to defense myself! There are few selected questions raised in the debate:

* Does Internet diminish reading?

Some argue the information online readers get is less in-depth, and highly narrowed because users scan, but not read. And with free will to click on a hyperlink, online readers have excessive selectivity on incoming sources.

“Online readers of the Times appear to have read fewer national, international, and political news stories [than readers of print version] and were less likely to recognize and recall events that occurred during the exposure period.”
said Tewksbury and Althus in the article Differences in knowledge acquisition among readers of the paper and online versions of national newspapers (2006)

But in contrast, on the Internet we read more from all possible angles. With hyerlinks and search engines, we gain access to sources from any parts of the world, from a specialist on the event to a small potato like you and I. Reading online is not just a one-way relationship between author and readers, but like a conversation or discussion between all people who are interested in that topic. The Web is a platform where collective productivity is encouraged for everyone to take multiple roles from creating news to commenting, from learning to teaching.·      

* Does online reading affect people’s comprehension skills?

A lot of critics suggest so. Dana Gioia, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, suggests a national decline in test scores of reading ability and reading comprehension. Nicholas Carr in his articale Is Google Making Us Stupid? also makes a smiliar statement that “what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation.”

But to me, reading in print and on the Internet are different skills. On a book, text is linear and sequential. There is a predetermined order, where readers are guided through author’s vision. On Net, readers skate through hypertexts and hyperlinks at will and, in effect, compose their own sequence of information.

I personally find these reading in print and online separate skills, and both are fundamental for us. Seriously can you find a modern workplace without either books or computers? Probably not. Even small companies are introducing technologies in their business. CityU, for instance, is requiring us not only to read books, but also to research online for reference materials.

Video: A Family of Readers  

Jane Sims and her husband, David, spend hours reading newspapers, magazines and books. Their children spend most of their reading time online. 

To conclude this post, I would like to suggest that neither actual publications nor online reading could replace one and other. They give readers different ways of experiencing and interpreting things. And essentially both skills to read in paper and online are critical in our career.

Further readings available here.

Week 9 Digital Games

Can the UK raise its game?

by Rory Cellan-Jones

I know this week's lecture will be about digital game, so here's an article about game industry in the UK. I can't agree with Ian Livingstone more. Computer lessons on Microsoft Office are putting students off from computing. I still remember it was until I got to know webpage designing and started making one homepage on my own that I became interested in HTML, and CG design, and so on.

Writing for new media - Nico Nico Douga

Photo by by MJ/TR (´･ω･)

In Week 5 Jonathan and I introduced to the class the Nico Nico Douga live broadcast, and the merits and demerits of using it as a broadcast host. This week I will show you how the site is in terms of its audience. Before jumping into topic, let’s have a quick review of our presentation, with the new media tool, 280 slides, that Kitty and Jenifer shared with us:

To audience of Nico Nico Douga, contents that they can create are majorly comments. The comments are embedded directly onto videos, synching such viewer-generated content to a specific playback time. According to the Asia Times Online, Nico Nico Douga was the first social media platform allowing viewers to do so. With this unique feature, Nico Nico Douga benefits audience in the following area:

• Shared watching experience – Viewers leave comments directly to the event occurring in the video, in sync with other viewers, creating a sense that all viewers are watching the video together, and that they are socially connected with each other.

• Thinking process can be understood – Looking at the synchronized comments, the flow of thinking throughout the video is observed.

• Comments as a creation of content – From viewer’s private matter to discussion on latest news, comments are of different topics that you can ever think of, not just about the video. Sometimes the comments are so attractive that viewers only focus on reading comments but not the video.

• Communication between viewers – Not only is there a video creator-viewer communication, there is also a viewer-viewer communication in a video. Sometimes viewers generate topics, or comment in response to other viewers’ words, creating communication within the communication of video.

The commenting feature is what makes Nico Nico Douga special. It makes the site one of the significant new media tools because of its low barrier for any users to contribute, creating part of the content of videos even if they don’t have advanced technical skills. And since the comments are overlaid to videos, users came to believe that their contributions do matter within the social community of Nico Nico Douga.

This leads to the point why the topic of writing for new media tool is important for people now – because everyone is somehow a content creator. New media tool becomes so necessary in our lives across business exchange, educational practices, social interactions and personal development. Everyday you comment, you post on your Wall, you tweet. And the content you created can potentially influence thousands of people who might get access to read it. Therefore, as a creator we need to know and acquire the skills of how to write effectively with new media tools. We should be aware of the advantages of using new media to express ourselves or spread news, as well as the ethical issues, such as invasion of privacy, that are hidden under our texts.

Note: Unfortunately the Nico Nico videos are only open to registered users. That’s why my linked video is from YouTube.  For those who don’t know Japanese but want to try out for this site can take a look at this useful tutorial.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mujitra/4196971117/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU3DrYwWTTI&feature=related

My digital life

I can't live a day without computer.





Morning starts with me turning on my Mac before brushing my teeth. And I go straightly to Facebook and check for new feeds. It is until 30 minutes later that I can make up my mind to have my breakfast. The next items in my must-do list are to upload Tweets, read Yahoo! News and login my e-mail accounts. Surfing through various websites, Facebook comes again with more new feeds waiting for me to read, and then Twitter, and then Yahoo! News... The cycle goes on until I finally go to bed, I hear my computer turning off with a sound of relief.


My addiction to computer is one of my drives to study this course. I would like to develop an understanding of the new digital communication tools, and how people can communicate effectively with the use of these tools. Hopefully after taking this course, I would be able to figure out why so many people, including me, are so enthusiastic about the new media.




Oh, and it's time to harvest my crops in Pigg again. See you soon!



Photo by 150hp