week 9 - Evaluation of the module

I can't believe that this module has come to an end, it's quite sad because I have actually enjoyed this module and I didn't think that I would have enjoyed it so much because I have never taken a course in web design before so I didn't have a clue on how to format a website until now.

So what did I think of the members that I had to work with? Well, to be honest I don't really like doing group work simply because I feel as though it is too much hassle at the best of times because some people put more effort and dedication into the work than others. However, to answer this question it has been a pleasure working with my group members as each one was dedicated and contributed some really strong ideas illustrated on the group 'wiki'. Although, none of us had a real understanding of web design I feel as though we worked to get it up to the standards which our lecturer would be pleased with. I don't really re-call any hostility between any of the group members including myself as we all knew that we had to work hard in order for our project to be a success, so we all just got on with it.

What did my group find the most challenging? I would have to say that the most challenging thing for my group was the layout of the wiki page. At times we would add images onto the page and try to move it and it wouldn't always go where we would have liked it to go, also decreasing the amount of text displayed on one page, which we managed to do in the end to make it more user friendly for students. Having too much text on one page makes it very mundane to read. People want to look at something which captures their attention straight away, I felt that we have done this by adding more images and focusing on what colours work well for the website.

What improvements would you make to the group wiki? If I had to make any improvements to the group wiki I would have probably looked at a few more case studies on online identites.

What have you learnt whilst doing this module?I feel as as though I have learnt a lot of new practical skills throughout this module which maybe quite helpful when I go on to pursue my career in the media. I would say that I have learnt how to keep an academic diary for a start (the blog), something else which I have never done before, whether or not I will keep on blogging is questionable because I do not think I will have enough time to do so, but I will try. I have also learnt how to design a website using a 'wiki' If you had asked me to create a 'wiki' page before this course I would have probably laughed at you. But now I feel pretty confident in completing one. In addition, I have also learnt what sort of attributes make a good website good and a bad one bad. I too have learnt a lot about second life; this is another arena which I was alien too, however, I do not think I would be setting up a second life account in a hurry as I think that it is time consuming and it is not something which is of interest to me, however, having said that I now realise why people would want to set one up because it is like a computer game i.e 'The Sims' whereby you create and control your own space. (A world created by yourself).

Is there anything else that you would like to add in relation to this project? I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in my group - Sara, Miray, Ionnais and Krisztina for all the hard work that you put into this 'wiki' and just to say that I have enjoyed working with you. Hopefully we should recieve a good grade for it. Also special thanks to Nigel who has been so supportive throughout this module.

Bank details for sale on the internet....................how bizarre!!!!

I recently read in the 'londonpaper' newspaper that bank details were for sale on the internet, I thought this was shocking and I really couldn't believe that this is actually happening in today's society and I hope my account details are not up for sale.

The article reads: the information commissioner has launched an investigation after it was revealed that thousands of Britons' bank details are up for sale on the internet. The times today said that it had found more than 100 websites offering UK bank details, including account numbers, pins and security codes. It had also been able to download banking information for 32 people, including a high court judge for free. (londonpaper page 7)

I think that more needs to be done to cut down on online fraudulant transactions; this shows that online fraud is on the rise and I think people need to be more observant whilst checking their monthly bank statement for any irregular activities. I found this article quite worrying as someone could be using your details and you wouldnt even know, which is why I felt the need to add this link from the times online (an extented version to the London paper article) to my blog as well as my group wiki page on (deception online) so you too can have a better understanding on this matter. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/borrowing/article1536791.ece

Week 8 - Coming to the end of our project

I have been doing so much work on my group wiki that I feel as though I have abandoned my individual project (my blog). Ok enough of the chit chat as we are now approaching the final couple of weeks of our project, there is a little bit of tweeking that we have to do starting with the content on some of the slides, mine in particular. I need to add more theory to it and more images.

Lately, I have been working on an essay for one of my modules on the information society and Cybersociety. What I have come to realise is that some of the theories for my essay have been quite useful for my project as well, but also come across some material which I had to question. In Mike Featherstones book 'Cyberspace/cyberbodies and cyberpunk - there is a quote which states that 'for many all that is left is technology; individuals are increasingly locked into the isolation of their homes and they only make contact with the outside world through telecommunications.' Ok so this maybe true to an extent because I know like many other people that I have become part of the post-modern tradition that is Cyberspace. Yeah I know that it is quite sad but I have somehow been drawn into this virtual world and I do know why, a bit bizarre if you ask me. And like Sara, I have resorted to communicating with family members who are next door on msn, does that make me lazy? Or is it just because I am too busy? I really dont know.

week 7 - (the progression of the group project)

This week our group focused more on the editing of our wiki as we found that our wiki has alot of useful information, but there was far too much information on one page, which makes it look unattractive and mundane so we had to insert images to make it appear more user friendly and make it look alot more attractive in terms of web design. What I am finding quite difficult is the overall layout of the page i.e. particularly when inserting images, however, I am trying my best to solve this issue by inserting the images into tables which makes it look alot nicer in terms of layout.

As a group I feel that we need to include more theory into our wiki. I have managed to incorporate some theory on virtual reality and how it corresponds to second life. Theory from Featherstone, M and Burrows, R - Cyberspace,Cyberbodies and Cyberpunk (Cultures of Technological Embodiment) - 1995 Sage Publications

week 6- Self Directed Study

This week we more or less concentrated on our group project, which I must say is coming along nicely and it is clear that everyone has put quite a bit of effort into it. My only real concern is the actual layout of the page, especially after looking at some group work from the previous years which I must say was amazing and very insightful. It looked as though they all had experience in the field of web design. In addition, it looked as though they had spent alot of quality time on it. I think with our project, we need to make it more user friendly by adding less text and more images; looking/analysing examples of good and bad websites definitely helped as we could identify with bits that worked and bits that didnt work in terms of web design.

For tomorrows lesson I am going to try and incorporate some theory into our group project which I have found through reading some texts such as Slevin, J (2001) The internet and Society Polity Press UK and Gere, C (2002) Digital Culture Reaktion Books.

week, 5 Good and Bad Web Designs

This week we looked at writing and what it means in terms of web design, it is alot different writing on the web then on paper as you have to be more creative and insert images that immediately captures the readers eye.

Already, I managed to find some examples of good and bad web designs

• Evite.com - In short, this website is crying out for an overhaul. With more and more sites emphasizing flexability and user control over content, Evite's fill-in-the-blanks approach feels clumsy and to and extent dated. The ads are intrusive and as for the navigation, it's slow, your never quite sure what you are clicking on because some of the pages are blank it also takes a while for some of the pages to load, need I say more. The service has also been slow to adopt some of the media sharing tools that have become a standard way of the web. Definitely not recommended for those of you who maybe in a hurry.
  

• Myspace.com - One of the most popular social networking sites and also one of the top ten online destinations overall. It seems as though this community has become infested with marketers and various other opportunitists who create false profiles and essentially spam other users.

www.jeansstore.co.uk

This is an example of good web design because it is informative and it is user friendly and the navigation is really good as well, I also think that the layout is very good and the brands are clearly marked which makes the consumer want to buy jeans because of the way how each pair is marketed. In my opinion, definitely concised.


Another example of excellent web design is asos.com, which is a relatively new online fashion retailer which specialise in current trends as seen by the celebrities. In my opinion their website is very good because it is easy to navigate, also there are still images of the clothing followed by a catwalk so you can really see the product which makes it much easier for the consumer to decide where or not the product is right for her/him. The website also allows you to zoom right up to the product so you can see what the material is like and the texture.

Week4's lesson, Wiki Formation and information on Second Life

In this week's lesson we were given an in depth understanding of what is meant by the terminology 'Online communities' and what that also means about who we are online . Online communities inevitably aims to address issues of sustainability, regeneration, social inclusion and healthier economies by focusing on the use of new communications technologies in communities and neighbourhoods.

This week also gave us a chance to progress with our group wiki, which I must say is coming on really well. There is some really good information inputted on it, however, I feel that we need to sort out the overall design and layout of the page as there is far too much text on it and not enough images. I do realise that this is an academic piece of work but I also know that it's meant to be user friendly for students.


We were each assigned different parts to focus on for this project, my part is 'deception online'.
For this I will be giving a concised definition of what 'deception' actually means. I will then be illustrating the three main questions which I have choosen to focus on for this section as the subject on deception is so broad.

• Are we really who we say we are online?
• How easy is it to hide your identity online?
• How easy is it to commit identity fraud?
  

With reference to these three questions I will be analysing Dyson, E (1997) article on 'who are you and does it matter?' in the Guardian Online Dec 1997 p.11, Baym, NK (1998), The emergence of online community' in Jones, SG ed. Cybersociety 2.0: revisiting computer-mediated communication and community, Sage California and Donath, S.J (1996) 'Identity and deception in the virtual community' at http://judith.www.media.mit.edu/Judith/identity/identitydeception.htm

In addition, I will be looking at social networking sites in particular Myspace, facebook and second life. Are we really who we say we are on these sites? as we could potientially be a paedophile.
There are countless anecdotes concerning online deception, in particular the story of a (multi-user-domain) which I will elaborate on when inputting information on the group wiki.


I read something in the 'London Lite' that was very alarming to me about Second life and I thought I should share it with you as well as using it as the basis of case study for my group project.
The article reads:

'Child abuse fear in Second Life'
'Internet detectives are hunting for paedophilies using the web community to
abuse virtual children. A probe into Second Life, a site where users can create
and control characters, found that paedophiles had created a playground to
carry out sex acts on virtual children. Police now fear that the abuse could
spiral into the real world and said "We'll infiltrate these rings." 'John,G London Lite Wednesday 31st October 2007 pg3


I think that we need to be more cautious online although there is security maintained in 'net communication' and not take certain things online for granted.

Identity Online - The Proposal

In light of the group discussion last week, here is a summary of the ideas and issues that will be introduced and discussed in our group wiki on the issue of 'Identity'. As we progress with this module our ideas and focus points are subject to change, however at this present point I think its safe to assume that the group members are all in agreement over the following information. Our Project will fall under two main headings, the issue of online identity-what it means, and the idea of deception within online identity. Within these two subheadings will be various questions we may wish to cover:What is Identity?
Exploring the question of identity, What is our identity in our real lives, how do we define it and what it means to have an online identity in contrast to a 'real life' identity. Whether there are any differences between these concepts? Does identity change once we enter cyberspace? why? Theorists/sources of interest may include the following:
Understanding Human Behavior in Cyberspace By Yair Amichai-Hamburger (2005, Oxford University Press), (How the Internet enables people to express elements of their personality that they cannot express in the real word, the social psychology).
Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice By Martha MacCaughey, Michael D. Ayers (2003, Routledge), (understanding the impact of the Internet on politics today, collective online identity).
Community in the Digital Age: Philosophy and Practice By Andrew Feenberg (2004 Rowman & Littlefield)
Sex in Cyberspace: Men Who Pay for Sex by Sarah Earle, Keith Sharpe (2007Ashgate Publishing, Ltd), (self-explanitory title! Research based on online forums and chat rooms)
Identity: Cultural Change and the Struggle for Self By Roy F. Baumeister (1986Oxford University Press)
Culture and Identity: Critical Theories By Ross Abbinnett, chapter entitled 'Postmodern and the aesthetic' (2003 Sage Publications Inc).
http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/TGAME.html
www.newmediastudies.com/resourc2.html
www.bathtub.yoga.com/blog/myspace-vs-facebook-or-why-facebook-needs-artistpa ges.html
www.reviews.digitaltrends.com/guide92.html
Looking at social networking sites and how they are constructed. Who do they aim at? Is there a 'type' of person who joins these sites, and does it say something about one's 'identity' depending on which site you choose to be part of? eg. The online society you involve yourself with and how this may impact you. Does identity change once a social networking site enters the equation? Sites we may choose to look at (and have already looked at), are primarily facebook and myspace, although bebo and univillage are also of interest, as well as WELL and equivelant sites
How do Myspace and Facebook differentiate? Myspace and the idea of a 'glorifed CV', which is used by most people for networking and meeting people across the world. Facebook on the other hand being almost in the same vein of Friendsreunited.com because you only add people you know or have known, and it being used by primarily by university students. In addition it is arguably more user friendly.
Give an example (or two) of a case whereby online identity online has played in key role in changing someone's life. (currently finding examples of this within our group)
DECEPTION:
Issues that can be covered in this section are ideas concerning online deception in regards to identity. Are people who they say they are? Ideas about Identity theft. False Profiles on social networking sites and how much this really matters, if at all.
Dating websites may also fall under this category, and how much deception (if at all) is used when trying to lure those of the opposite sex
'bands' online, I know through personal experience of working within the online PR of music that myspace music is not regulated and controlled by the 'band' or the artists themselves (once they become well-known), the PR team will usually monitor, change, update and 'add' friends on the myspace of various artists posing as the artist themselves. Is this deception? or Publicity? Where does one draw the line.
Other things to take into consideration:
The work of Erving Goffman

The Culture of the Internet - (week 3)

Week 3: In this weeks lesson we discussed the culture of the internet. We looked at Eric Raymonds arguement on What is a hacker? - Raymond suggests that 'hackers made the unix operating system what it is today.' In addition, we also looked at Richard Matthew Stallman - he is software and freedom activist, hacker and software developer. With the launch of GNU project, general public license, he created the free software movement.

Unix - is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1969

Linux - is one of the most prominent examples of free software and open source development.

The next thing which we discussed was 'identity online' and one of the main questions we wanted to address is "How does this community form social networking sites?"

In relation to this, we examined 'Second Life', which if im honest I knew nothing about until I started this class. At first glance it kind of reminded me of "The Sims" a computer game which is - the idea of the virtual world created by (Computer-generated imagery)

"Second life" is a downloadable client program that enables its users, called 'residents', to interact with each other through motional avators providing an advanced level of a social network service combined with general aspects of a metaverse. So-called residence can explore, meet other residence, socialise, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another. - This source is arguably being used to stimulate real life events Example:

In my opinion, the whole idea of 'Second life' seems ludacris to me because it is arguably creating a sense of illusion, I dont understand why someone would pay 'real' money for (CGI) houses, cars and land which literally dont exist. Outrageous if you ask me. What's even more astonishing is than a woman became a millionare by selling these products on 'Second life'.

General Analysis of a Blog/ Week 1&2

Well I suppose I should start off by giving a general analysis of what I understand by the term blog. I believe that a blog is a like a journal used to publish your thoughts and opinions which inevitably can be didactic.
This is my first attempt at writing an online blog so I hope that I make it a good one. I realise that blogs are usually conversational however, I will try to be academic when necessary. I will be using this blog for academic purposes only which means that I will be giving a detailed analysis of what Ive learnt in each lesson and what I am hoping to achieve in this multimedia project module. I believe that writing a blog is a much easier way of communicating with my group as a posed to an email as it enables you to post videos, emails and links if need be.

My group includes Sara, Miray, Krisztina, Ioannis; our theme is identity online, which we have entitled 'Wiki identity'.

In the first lesson we had, we distingushied the main differences between the internet and the World Wide Web. One of the main differences is that the internet carries the web whereas (WWW) carries things which are said to be more graphical.

Tim Berners Lee - CERN- was the worlds first-ever web server http://info.cern.ch/

and http://public.web.cern.ch/public/content /chapters/aboutcern/achi. gives you an indepth understanding of how (WWW) actually works.

Week 2: In this weeks lesson, we expanded on our knowledge of what Wiki's are and how to edit good ones. In addition, we learnt about HTML. This is a text based file used to create a basic web page. We were also given the opportunity to attempt one, which at first looks confusing but then it is made clear when explained.

Towards the end of the lesson we formed into our groups, to discuss what ideas we had to make this project on 'identity online' work. Some interesting issues were raised which we are going to expand on when we meet up on thursday for a group discussion.

For next weeks lesson I am going to try and gather some case studies which I can find on 'Identity online' and also looking at how the convergence and synergy of new media technologies contributes to this.