blogs online

I took an ethics course last semester and remember reading that social networking all started with blog sites. A whole bunch of people gather to talk about politics and current events and such by posting and commenting blogs. But how do those people find those blogs? Through google and other search engines, of course! Whenever I need to look up something like "What's the best way to get soap scum off of tubs?" or "What's the best way to deal with brothers and sisters-in-law?", I am usually led to some interesting blog posts that written by people who went through similar problems as me and most of the time they are pretty humorous! It is really an excellent way for people to share ideas about common facts and wonders.
Not that that is why I created a Blogger account(it was a required for some of my classes).

chapter 5, Growing Up Online

I do believe that the president of the PTA (I think it was) is a bit paranoid but considering possibilities of online bullying that lead to kids committing suicide, parents should keep track of their children; not to the point where they ask for account passwords but to at least have a chat with them every now and then just to make sure they're not secretly living a miserable life. It's definitely hard to stay in close contact with teens keep track of them will most likely irritate them and might cause them to drift away from the family but as a parent, you must be responsible of your kids' actions and is your duty to help lead them on the right path.
If I had a teenage kids, I don't think I'd let them keep a computer in their own room because I know as teens, they'll probably lock themselves up in their rooms never participating in family activities, but at least I know they're not chatting with Lord knows who all day. I don't want to be a lousy parent and rather be a proud one. Kids these days are much smarter than we think but there still are naive ones that can seriously use some parental guidance. Based on what we saw in class today, I think "To Catch a Predator" is a great starting point to show young teens what they may be getting themselves into from too much online chatting!
I hope I don't sound TOO much like the crazy mom..

fanfiction

What makes people write them? Same reason why doujinshi mangas exist, fans just want more and if the authors don't give it to them then they just got to do it themselves. I don't write fanfics (not one of specialties) but I have done a few Zelda doujinshi mangas back in high school when I was full of questions like who Sheik really was and who the fierce diety masked person was in Majora's Mask before I was able to beat both games. I didn't have easy access to the internet at the time so I decided to make up my own answers by making up my own Zelda comics.
Even after finishing the games, some people may not have liked with the way things ended(like with character coupling) and create fanfics, modifying the story to their satisfaction. There's also cross-over fanfics where fans completely change the story by introducing characters to others from a different show/game/movie just to see how it'd be like. I honestly don't like those types of fanfics, though.

Chapter 4, Folklore and Pop Culture

I've been reading about the difference between folk and pop culture and from what I understood, the only difference is pop culture started out as folk culture but is now spread around the world coming from the same source. I also understood that pop culture was created with the help of the digital world; people who share the same traditional folklore stories come together and talk about legends and the like that was passed down by their family lines, letting others know about them and spread the word. As they spread, stories are added upon and modified, becoming more and more popular as they grow.
Star Wars, of course, had one of the biggest impacts in the digital world. I remember watching Japanese cartoons when I was a kid and was always sick of seeing KFC sponsored Star Wars commercials with American kids fighting with light sabers and the same music playing in the back over and over again; it was THAT popular (and I never cared to watch any one of its movies even till now).
I would say that anime is also a good example that shows how much folk and pop cultures' collision in the digital world. Old Japanese stories made up for kids to help guide them on the right path and not do wrong turn into base story lines in now-a-day popular anime series and now since anime is wide-spread around the world, so many people know about those stories too.
There's a series of short story Japanese cartoons called "Nippon no Mukashibanashi" that are all based on the legends and sayings that have existed in Japan for centuries and they can all be found on Youtube for the world to see!

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Research/popularreviews.html
http://www.units.muohio.edu/psybersite/cyberspace/folklore/intro.shtml

facebook vs. twitter

I just never understood the point of twitter when no one can really comment on your status like you can in facebook. I made a twitter account a long time ago because I was invited via email and was somehow convinced that it was a good way of keeping track of people. But I completely forgot about it the very next day. The only thing that kept reminding me that I had a twitter account was the countless emails I got almost every week saying that I have a random person following me. You can't even post pictures much less have people comment on them like you can in facebook. I can't think of any other negative factors on Twitter as I can't think of any features..since it doesn't even have any! Facebook does have its downfalls but it should definitely knock Twitter out of the program! I have no idea why it hasn't already..

Chapter 3, transmedia and the Matrix

Like the origami unicorn in Bladerunner, the Matrix also had its "key" which grabs the viewers' thoughts and twists them around, causing those viewers to be curious and full of questions which can be fully answered once they watch the sequels of the film. In the meantime of course, fans would shift onto web sources and begin to share ideas of what was understood and what might happen in the upcoming sequel.
So what's the key that created this whole transmedia phenomenon around the net? The combination of different genres mashed into what supposed to be just a simple sci fi movie? Can't tell for sure yet as I haven't watched the second nor the third movie and vaguely remember what the first one was about probably because I never even understood it. According the Jenkins, that was one common issue among the viewers that started this online collective intelligence around the world. There were people who were clueless and had the urge to know more and the people who understood and were moved by the film. So, forums are created, then questions are asked and answered.
This article shows an interview with Joe Pantoliano who explains why the Matrix was such a great hit. He mentions that this film was filled with scenes that have never been seen before, amazing scenes that would blow all the viewers' minds away. Also, that the second two movies were too redundant to be amused by for a second and third time.
http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/04/24/watch-this-joe-pantoliano-on-why-the-matrix-sequels-failed/

texting

Chapter 2 in Convergence Culture says that texting became popular thanks to a certain show, "American Idol". Whether that's true or not, I am really glad it was invented. A lot of people like talking on the phone but there also are many who prefer messaging. I am one of those who likes to text more than talk. You might think that people can't express their feelings as much compared to when talking on the phone which may be right but then again nothing beats face-to-face talk. I disagree with that, there are many people who are real shy to say things directly to others and it really helps to be able to say it through messages. You can add some expressions and emotions by using smiley face symbols, and what people call "emoticons", not to mention exclamation marks.

A friend of mine is going out with someone now and I say that they owe it all to texting. The guy was the shy type and decided to ask the girl out by texting her. Later he was able to ask her again in person (though she had already said yes through text). I believe it was the texting that gave him the courage to ask her face-to-face later. It is much easier to tell someone something through messaging, in my opinion at least.

Chapter 2, Advertising

My sister recently came back from New York and wouldn't stop talking about how 'wonderful' time square was with all its ads and liveliness and now wants to move there after she graduates to look for jobs. I've never been there but don't think I'll really like seeing bright screens flashing in my face talking about products I'm not even interested in every corner I turn. As if tv commercial messages isn't annoying enough, but it seems like that's just how desperate they are with all this cluttering.

Still, I don't think that's really going to get people to start wanting to buy their products, it just makes it a nice place for people to hang out in. I'm sure after walking around there will make me go "Oh my, I have a big wish list to make!" by the end of the day. I'll probably just want a couple of advils to fix my headaches. The article I read about has the page filled with pictures of all the ads (or most of them) found while walking around in half an hour in Time Square.
http://www.ironicsans.com/2007/01/every_ad_in_times_square.html
and that was a LOT of scrolling just to get to the final column of pictures. And, just like the author of the article suggested the reader would be thinking, I thought that man they sure have a lotta time on their hands instead of being sucked into their world and just start wanting to save and spend like crazy.

At least this way though, advertisers won't have to worry about zappers since the people don't really have a choice unless they wanna walk around with their eyes closed. I for one am a zapper(though I don't watch tv that often) and would mute the tv and go check my mail or even do hw while I wait for the commercials to end. Veoh actually has little dots at the bottom of the video that indicate when there's going to be a commercial break, I always keep an eye to see if it was getting close the dot and when it does I click right passed it, managing to skip right through it. Some commercials are pretty amusing though, with their creativity which sometimes have NOTHING to do with the actual product they're trying to advertise. But then again, it's only fun to watch the first time, then you'll start zapping again.