A G A R C E N G L 894 Project

Not Quite Post- Human in the 21st Century

A Conference Talk

Anthony M. GarciaENGL 894

Dr. K. Gossett Old Dominion University

August 13, 2009

Not Quite Post-Human in the 21st Century

• How has technology changed the social setting for today’s consumers?

• Hayles – How we became post human

Newer Media: The Creation of a “Pseudo-Cyborg”

• I. Early Online Community

• II. The Evolution

• III. Shifts in demand

• IV. Approaching today’s media

• V. Disadvantages

• VI. Advantages

• VII. Analysis & Conclusion

Evolution

• Newsprint

• Broadcast Television

• Online Communication

– CompuServe, AOL, Prodigy

• Bluescreen, CGI

• Modern forms: SNS services (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter)

Earlier Media

CompuServe

Early presence as Q-link for Commodore.

Succeeded by AOL in new platforms

Social Networking Sites

• MySpace

• Facebook

• Twitter

• *Not the first online communities*

• AOL “Hub, People Connection, WB Online”– Services lost following

Earlier services: Friendster: Jonathan Abrams

Competitor to Facebook

Once the premier open social network

Issues of Security

Commercialized to NewsCorp in 2006

Recent declines in membershipPopularly cited reasons: (Stelter & Arango, 2009)

Facebook now open to all.

Commercialism became too invasive

(Advertising, you may know, etc).

Job Seekers

• Popular social networking utility– Originally students only

– Currently open network

– Gaining members

AOLOnce a premier online community

Subscriber, fee-based service

Lost popularity following AOL/ Time Warner merger*coincided with .com collapse

Newer Portable Technology

• Texting

• Mobile email

• Navigation

• GPS, Mobile Mapping

• Video Chat

Disadvantages of new technologies

Ease of Process

Jesse Logan: Suicide March 2009

Some evidence of decrease in linguistic ability (Literacy Today, 2006)

Stalk me, Bully MeMegan Meier (USA Today, Oct. 2006)

Advantages

• Increased communication can reduce acts of terrorism.

• 9/11– More learned of attacks via electronic communication (Carey, 2002)

– Students communicated with parents in lockdown environments.

– Columbine

• Call to repeal ban on cell phones in schools– Emergency alert systems at schools

School Responses to Technology

• “We believe that technology, coupled with education, can go

a long way toward keeping students safe if we work

together with our colleagues across every department and

at every level.” (Fletcher, G. H., et. Al)

-Encouraging schools to use digital media & video to increase school safety and documentation

Online Communities

• Friend me• An opportunity to socially network

• Follow me• Status Clients allow users to receive updates

• Watch me• Positive & Negative

• Privacy ?

Facebook

• 25% of users cannot find their security settings (Fernandez, 2009)

• A library profile “legitimizes” the utility

• Security is uncertain

Twitter

• Simple, limited service status client.

• Gaining popularity– User preference

• Mobile– Security recently tested

Is technology distorting reality?Approaching a digital cyborg

• CGI– Brandon Lee, Heath Ledger, Fred Aistaire

– Concerns arise over those in the acting profession

– Greater portrayal of risk & danger• Speculated to have inspired Columbine killings.

(LoPiccolo, 2000).

Jenkins

• Convergence– “Ongoing process or series of intersections

between different media systems, not a fixed relationship.”

Is there convergence in current new media technologies?

The “Post-human” revisited

• Technology has not evolved to rule human civilization.

• Migration between media types appears situational.

• Each “new” technology presents advantages and disadvantages.

• Society determines success or failure of each.

• Security is a greater concern with electronic globalization.

A technological day in the life of a doctoral student.

• “Convenience sampling.”• Morning

– Check news (Market Watch)– Check school events (School Webpage)– Scan newspaper *

• Afternoon– Check news (MarketWatch)– Make phone calls– Send e-mail– Almost exclusively from iPhone

EveningWriting (Electronic)Reading (reprinted electronically)Email as necessaryOccasional live performance, outside event

All Day Texting

Almost Never: Written letters TV, Movies, Videos

• Technology has increased ease of communication. • Risks exist for literacy in its current form. • With an increase in electronic media, understanding of rights

of privacy is essential.• The use of portable electronic media has reduced the need

for broader methods of information delivery (Newscast, Newsprint, radio).

• Increasingly selective audiences may be minimizing experiences in a global community.

• Essentially, technology is what you make of “IT.”

References• Barnes, S. (2006). A Privacy Paradox: Social Networking in the United States. First Monday 11(9). Retreived August 10,

2009,

from: http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/rt/printerFriendly/1394/1312

• Bernstein, J. (2007). MySpace's Zephyr Tracking Solution: Refreshing Change or Hot Air?. EContent 30(3). p. 8.

• Carey, J. (2002, September). Media Use During a Crisis. Prometheus, 20(3), 201-207. Retrieved August 12, 2009, doi:10.1080/08109020210141380

• Farkas, Meredith Source: American Libraries; Dec2007, Vol. 38 Issue 11, p36-36, 1p

• Hastings, M. (2002, April 29). 'Cell'ing Safety in Schools. Scholastic Scope, 50(17), 23. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

• Hayles, K.N. (1999). How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics. Chicago: UC Press

• Jensen, J. F. 3D Inhabited Virtual Worlds: Interactivity and Interaction between Avatars, Autonomous Agents, and Users.. 1999. 9 p.

• LoPiccolo, P. (2000, July). Coming of Age. Computer Graphics World, 23(7), 4. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

• Media Watch, Literacy Today; Dec2006 Issue 49, p29-29, 1p Document Type: Article

• Stewart, P. Facebook and Virtual Literature Circle Partnership in Building a Community of Readers. Knowledge Quest v. 37 no. 4 (March/April 2009) p. 28-33

• Stelter, B., & Arango, T. (2009). Losing popularity contest, MySpace tries a makeover., NYTimes. – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/technology/companies/04myspace.html

Digital Citations• AOL Icon

– Freewebs.com

• CompuServe icon-

– http://wanderingstan.com/files/med_compuserve_email.jpg

• Facebook Icon

– socsci.uci.edu

• Jesse Logan

– msnbc.msn.com

• MySpace Icon

– dis1krzi3pnai.xanga.com