It tends to to be that unless a race or ethnicity is specified, it is presumed that the assumed race is “White” or “Caucasian”. When physical appearance is absent, concealed, or inexplicit, the assumed race is White. Similar to racial controversies that have occurred during the castings for films and interpretations of novels, the issues…
In new media, there are numerous methods of self presentation, through Facebook, various virtual reality platforms and through, of course, written communication. It has been a while since I stopped to think about the way people present themselves and whether this has any correlation with reality, but it has always been a question sitting on…
We happen to live in a world of stereotypes. A world that itself is slightly in part responsible for these stereotypes, but it seems as if society refuses to make it easy to break these boundaries. The social hierarchy and cultural injustices are seen consistently in our society, from the workplace to neighborhoods, perhaps all…
We ended last week’s class with Vincent Miller’s essay about phatic communication “New Media, Networking and Phatic Culture.” Miller defines phatic exchange as “a communicative gesture that does not inform or exchange any meaningful information or facts about the world. Its purpose is a social one, to express sociability and maintain connections or bonds” (393-4).…
In today’s class, while attempting to decipher the term “phatic communication” brought about by Vincent Miller, I couldn’t help but recognize a rather large paradox. With our “flattened” means of socializing, our online society of phatic communicators greatly challenges the goals of online dating. “From Single to Soulmate: Get Deeply Matched with singles based on…
Marshall Mcluhan believes that extensions, or new technology that enhances and expands a limited human function, influences culture. Social media then, as an extension of physical human interaction, could certainly change our culture, although he says there is a risk of over-extension, meaning there are potential downsides to over-use. Rachel Botsman’s TED talk on collaborative…
Though Manovich never explicitly discusses a world with gestural-based devices, he does assert that space has become a type of new media. The media of space which he speaks about, however, is far less limited than that over the modern-day; he talks about spatial media in computer programs and games with three-dimensional navigation and visualization.…
The popular overuse of the phrase “social network” has aligned the concept more with its modern signifiers (Facebook, Twitter) than with its significance. The social network refers to a series of ritualized interactions and actions that reinforce social ties, therefore, a larger cohesion is dependent on a series of smaller, individual actions. If Vincent Miller…
The company Gnip, found at Gnip.com, specializes in the aggregation and sale of data from various social media sites. Gnip provides firehose access to user posts on websites such as WordPress, Twitter, and Tumblr, “firehose” meaning that Gnip collects the full data stream from these websites. The data is then made available to customers. Gnip…
Careful what you write online, it will come back to haunt you. In a society that places demands on communication through social media, we are often encouraged to share our lives with each other. Where has this trend developed and why has it developed? I aim to explore how this culture of exposure has emerged…
WIIH Fellows: New Media, New Knowledge 