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Hi everyone,
This is my third and final stage of my digital artefact for BCM325. I decided to switch it up and do something a little different. I did a voice over of myself predicting the future impact of robotics which I posted to my YouTube channel. Please go check it out!
Week 8 saw the screening of I, Robot. While live tweeting this week, I began to add more academic sources and articles to my tweeting as evidence for what I was tweeting about. For example, in this tweet I mentioned that there were not as many robots walking around in the film, however it was the year 2035; therefore my next tweet was an article I found online about robots taking over humans in the future, which allowed for my peers to read.
Analysing this tweet, I decided to make an obvious statement about the future being similar to nowadays. I also decided to ask a question in my tweet to spark a conversation and engagement with my peers.
In this tweet I wanted to include a news article about how a certain robot called ‘Paro’ can make the elderly feel less lonely and help them in many ways. Analysing this tweet, I decided to add the article to portray the similarities in the film and how Frank feels lonely without his robot companion. This week, I gained a few likes in a few of my tweets, mentioning the key themes in this tweet , how strong human relationships can be in this tweet and also mentioning how important companionship is in this tweet, which I found online.
I also engaged with a few peers this week, retweeting and liking other people’s tweets to spark a conversation, such as my tweet about companionship where I got a reply from another student.
Critically analysing week nines tweets, they are evidence of some research through shared links to relevant sources.
At week 10, I was articulating my thoughts which made it uncomplicated to bring forth discussion. I was engaging with my peers quite well and tweeting factual information about the film in this tweet which gave me 4 likes and 2 retweets. I thought this link would be an eye opener to convey a new type of artificial intelligence in the film. Critically analysing, I was learning about artificial intelligence in the future in more depth through my own tweets and retweets from others such as Matilda’s tweet.
This week, I made a strong tweet that gained a lot of attention due to the fact of me asking a serious question that got other students thinking. The tweet gained a lot of attention because it could be what the future holds for us.
This week was the most tweeting I have done in a period of time. I tweeted two articles I found online (first one here), to convey how the future of technology reflects our present. I thought this was a great idea for my peers to read and reflect on how the future may change with the continuous evolution of technology. The second article I posted mentioned the themes in the film – ranging from cloning to female stereotypes which reeled in 3 likes and 2 retweets. The point of this tweet was to for my peers to think of all the different themes in the film and what they meant.
Other interactions with my peers such as retweeting, favouriting and sparking conversation can be found here: first, second, third, fourth. My tweet about the sounds in the film was a tweet that didn’t focus on the picture, but on the way the music was making the audience feel for people to think about their feelings.
Reflecting on The Matrix, my tweets were far more insightful and research-based with a lot of engagement. This tweet pulled in nine likes and retweets as I commented on the picture image and colours in the film. Angus pointed out that the directors in the film came out as transgender a few years after the making of the film which reshaped my research as I looked for articles on the film and tweeted about the film being a coming out movie which sparked a response from Angus.
Overall, I genuinely enjoyed live tweeting and reflecting on my tweets each week. Each week I engaged with different peers and created conversation to articulate my thoughts.
Providing feedback to three of my peers on their beta presentations will hopefully help them in their final project proposals.
Firstly, I listened to Rumeysa’s beta presentation. Her proposed project focuses on her researching into targeted advertisements and how often we come across ads about topics that we talk about. My comment on Rumeysa’s digital artefact can be seen here. Her artefact is going to be an animation about what this type of advertising can bring in the future.
Reflecting on my comment, I mentioned how I liked the idea of making it a creepy mood – this is a good reflection of how targeted advertisements can be freaky. I suggested that she could look at other technologies such as google home and Alexa to give her another idea for her digital artefact. The main reason for this was to help motivate Rumeysa in creating a great digital artefact. I left her a link (found here), which can help her with talking about other devices and how they can take advantage of people in a way. I believe my feedback will help Rumeysa learn more about targeted advertisements where she can reflect on my comment and use my feedback to create a great digital artefact.
My second comment can be accessed here.
Ruby is launching a podcast series called ‘Music Bizniz’, which encompasses Ruby doing one on one interviews with local artists in the area. Her original idea was to create a 3-part podcast series and link it to a previous project she is completing in another subject, however she thought her question in her other subject was too broad therefore, her project now has turned into an interview series that is posted to YouTube and Soundcloud once a week that focuses on changes in the music industry and how these changes will extend to the future.
Reflecting on my comment on Ruby’s post, I believe my feedback has the potential to be very helpful in creating a successful podcast and digital artefact. I offered Ruby two links to sources that can give her some suggestions to focus on in more depth. I said that her podcast series is a unique and relevant one to focus on as we don’t know what the future holds for the music industry. The first link can be accessed here, which offered an idea to Ruby that she can focus on the future being an uncertain adventure for music artists. The second link provided an idea for Ruby to look at the effects of Spotify being a competitor for record labels. I offered these links to spark new ideas that can be researched in depth as they relate to the future of tech/music culture of the future. I believe my feedback was valuable information that can be used to make important decisions for Ruby’s digital artefact and my comment was predominantly complementary.
Lastly, my comment on Georgia’s beta presentation can be seen here. Georgia’s digital artefact is to emphasise the effect of physical health (body image) and to educate the risks involved with this on her instagram. She posts photos to her account highlighting the extremes that image editing allows us to easily manipulate photos.
Critically evaluating my comment on Georgia’s post, I decided to encourage her into looking at articles online that convey the effect of body image on both men and women. The first source, I decided to offer her an idea that she should focus on both men and women and compare the statistics of the effect this issue has on both genders. The second link I offered was an academic article to portray how women’s mood and body image can be effected from particular celebrity images on instagram. The main reason for this feedback was to help Georgia look down different paths to back up her reason for doing this artefact and to provide some evidence. My feedback will hopefully motivate Georgia to look into more sources in depth, to help her for continued learning and to assist her in the creation of her digital artefact.
Overall, critically evaluating my comments on all three of my peers, I believe it will be motivating and also energising to look down different paths to find evidence and links that can help with each persons digital artefact.
With only 2 weeks to go until the submission of my final project, a few more things have been completed since last week. So far I have conducted two interviews over Facebook messenger and mobile phone calls with both my mum and dad. The questions that I asked my mum were:
The interview questions I asked my dad included:
I have now received the answers to the questions and will be analysing them at the end of the week. At the end of this week and next week I will putting all of my findings and research onto my platform that I’ll be presenting on and finalising my findings before submitting it on the due date.
Until next time …
Alrighty, now that I have an understanding and broad idea of where my proposed research is going to take me, research has been well underway! My final project is consisting of me conducting an ethnographic study on how inflight media use has changed over time but since I have received some feedback, I am starting to think that I may also look into airline marketing materials over the different eras in relation to on-board entertainment.
This week I have been further researching online about the shift in inflight media. I currently follow a page on Facebook which ‘is your ultimate guide to navigating the ins and outs of the points, miles, aviation and travel world’. It portrays videos of inside the cabins, business class, first class and economy class on the world’s best airlines displaying how inflight media use has changed and the new technological advancements. I have attached a link below that conveys Emirate’s newest first class cabin and the change in inflight media use.
Last week I prepared my interview questions for my Mum, Dad, sister and friend to ask next week and then I’ll analyse the outcomes once completed. I will mainly be focusing on the airline Emirates as it has had a major shift in technology advancements with now allocating inflight entertainment such as ice TV live, inflight air show that follows your flight’s progress on amoving map, and see the world from 40,000ft with external cameras. You can receive weather updates, news and sport reports and information about your flight to your screen. You can listen to your music, radio or podcasts uninterrupted while you explore. Wi-Fi in the sky lets you enjoy 20MB of free data on all of Emirate’s A380s and select Boeing 777 aircrafts. You can even call other people on your flight with our in-seat satellite phone, or speak to people on the ground using data roaming.
These are just a few examples I have discovered while doing extensive research and how this has changed from 20 years ago where there wasn’t even an in-built television on the back of seats.
I’ll be back soon with another blog update on how my interviews went with my family and how my project is coming along!
To put it in a more simpler matter, The internet of things is basically connecting any device with an off and on switch to the internet and/or to each other. It is the network of ‘things’ embedded with software, electronics and network connectivity which allows objects to collect data. ATMs were some of the first Internet Of Things objects back in 1974 and back in 2008, there were more objects connected to the internet than there were people and moreover, in the future, it will allow for more and more objects to be connected such as 250,000 vehicles.
The future is already here. It is a scary thought to think that one day, maybe within the next 10 years with always changing technologies, everything will be connected to the internet. One great innovative matter to focus on in relation to the internet of things, is Google’s smart thermostat maker, Nest Labs. Google’s latest smart-home product is a cheaper smart thermostat that anyone can install themselves without the need for a boiler engineer. The Nest Thermostat E is a two-part system consisting of a battery-powered heating controller called the Heat Link E, which replaces an existing wired thermostat or heating controller, and a smart thermostat that can be placed somewhere else in your home. This thermostat is a great example of how our future is shifting to a more connected world of technological advancement.
This YouTube clips displays how Nest is different from programmable thermostats; how it saves energy and learns your schedule.
Edward Snowden is a notorious name when it comes to hacking as he was charged by the US Government with theft of government property. He leaked to the media details of extensive internet and phone surveillance by American intelligence. The scandal broke in early June 2013 when the Guardian newspaper reported that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting the telephone records of tens of millions of Americans. This case showed that not only can hackers can withhold your private information, but so can governments.
With the internet being the number one source for information, it is a hackers playground as the internet is filled with threats to online security. The amount of information that’s online, can be a danger for anyone so we need to be careful of what we have online. Botnets are the workhorses of the Internet. They’re connected computers performing a number of repetitive tasks to keep websites going. The bad thing about this though, is that they can gain access to your computer/laptop through coding which can end in your software being hacked (basically in a nut shell, adding your computer to their web).
Once the botnet’s owner is in control of your computer, they usually use your machine to carry out other nefarious tasks. Common tasks executed by botnets include:
SO WE NEED TO BE SUSPICIOUS AND CAREFUL OF WHAT THE WORLD WIDE WEB IS CAPABLE OF.
*When you realise you’re getting sent to jail for theft of government property*
Week 8’s task was to reflect on media use in the workplace. There are a number of different types of ethnography, however, ‘media ethnography combines ethnographic methods from traditional participative observation to the tools of netnography (an online research method originating in ethnography which is applied to understanding social interaction) and visual analysis’, (Gianpietro Mazzoleni, pp.739-742).
Today, there are numerous of employers who do not allow for media use in their work environment, however, media use has become quite apparent in everyday work circumstances. With updated technology, employees are using media in their workplace to search for answers on the web or to take photos using their iPhones or tablets to see where the problem needs to be fixed.
My previous job consisted of me travelling to Sydney every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, catching the 7am train from North Wollongong station to Central in Sydney where I worked on the streets and in shopping malls doing fundraising for charities. My given charity was called ‘Taronga Conservation Society’, so I worked on behalf of Taronga Zoo on the breeding and rehabilitation side for our current endangered species. I worked 9am-5:30pm trying to stop pedestrians on the busy streets of Sydney, hoping to inform them of what our conservation society did, and of course, trying to get people to sign up to our charity to give monthly donations to help fund for breeding programs at Taronga.
We used tablets that had a sign-up sheet, for when we convinced strangers to jump on board with us and donate, we would sign them up on our tablets. On the tablet, the sign-up sheet included the people’s names, D.O.B, address, if they are currently employed, email, phone number, then their credit card details or BSB and account number so monthly deductions could take place. This was the only form of technology we used in our work environment as we were sent to different locations every week; we weren’t sitting at a computer desk everyday, we were standing and walking around so we had to hold onto our tablets.
Our tablets could not be used to access any social media such as Facebook or Twitter as they were strictly used for work purposes. We were allowed on our phones at break, but it wasn’t too strict where as is someone caught you, nothing bad would happen. In many ways social media is just another in a long line of workplace distractions – chatty co-workers personal telephone calls or long smoko breaks. Each workplace should have a very clear policy that sets limits on ‘reasonable use’ of internet based facilities that outlines what sort of communications are and are not acceptable. For example, when I was working, if we were standing on our phones for more than 5 minutes not doing the job, we probably would have been fired. My job was not that strict what so ever, but it is common courtesy to someone who employs you; you are expected to do your job and not be standing around doing nothing.
Week 8’s lecture focused on the idea of figurative bridges that are made out of pebbles along with the conceptual shift of social media. As we know, the internet allows individual and mass communication, the way we find our media and news is via social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook, instead of buying your local newspaper every Saturday from the closest newsagency. This new way of absorbing information conveys a difference in age and how one has the ability to become a ‘prosumer’ rather than a ‘consumer’.
‘Gatekeeping’ is this idea of filtering, deciding what is important, what should be called media, what should be called news and what should be discussed.
“While audiences did retain the ability to buy or not to buy the newspaper, to switch on or off the radio and television news, in practice this choice amounted in many local markets that were served by only one or two major news outlets simply to a choice between the news as it was offered, or a self-imposed news blackout” – Axel Bruns
Reddit is a good example where tonnes of information and sources are gathered, then posted online for people to see over and over again. This depicts a problem for journalists as they have to fight for their work to be seen and captured by reporters. This constant flow of information shows how “bridges made of pebbles’ is a metaphor for the pebbles being the numerous amount of information provided by many social media networking sites, and the bridge representing the whole organisation of information which leads to which information is fact or false.
Below is a YouTube clip on how ‘social media is changing journalism’.
It has been obvious that one of the most controversial topics that arise relating to phones, is always, Android or iPhone? The idea of Google’s Android is that it is a more ‘”open” source, while Apple’s iOS is a “closed” source. Android is open in a variety of ways, for one thing, the Android operating system is based on code from the ‘Android Open Source Project’.
The beginning of 2007 saw Apple announce the iPhone and Google’s response was very different because at the end of 2007, Google announced the ‘Open Handset Alliance’. Both Apple and Android have a number of similarities, but also differences which sometimes conveys why one is better than the other. The idea of this closed vs. open source portrays a sense of freedom. This is due to being able to download apps outside of the designated system (its own app store) – for Android, which does not have many restrictions and even if it does not approve of an app, you can install it elsewhere.
Closed source however means that you can only install apps from Apple’s app store and no where else. This is why Apple’s iOS is referred to as a ‘closed source’.
So, if you are fine with the downloading of apps that are only available on Apple’s app store, then iOS is the one for you, but if you like to go off track a bit and like downloading apps outside of Google Play, then Android is the one for you.
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