Jewls' Journal

2004-03-09T00:44:00.000-08:00

Christine-

I just wanted to let you know that I tried to upload an image, but I didn't know how. I checked it out in Support and found out that if you have a free Blog account you can't upload images. Unless I'm an idiot and can't figure it out, or I'm reading something wrong.

Thanks-
Julia

2004-03-05T15:34:00.000-08:00

Like many other courses at Stanford, I was not sure what to expect from E-Rhetorics. I knew PWR 2 would focus on oral presentation, but that was the extent of my knowledge. E-Rhetorics turned out to go beyond my expectations, and I feel as the course is concluding, I can truly say that I have learned so much about oral communication and presentation. The course pushed me to test forms of electronic communication that I would not have ever experimented with on my own.

Creating my own blog is an example of an assignment that led me to explore communication on the internet. I was familiar with blogs and read my friend’s almost daily, but I never thought to create my own. However it turned out to be an assignment for E-Rhetorics, and I ventured out and was forced to ignore my hesitation. I never realized how conscious of my audience I would be when writing in my blog. It is an entirely different writing experience because there is no way to predict exactly who your audience is. Because everyone has access to my blog, I was writing for a much larger audience in mind than I ever had before. As a result, writing in blogs has helped me to be more aware of my audience in every writing situation.

Writing for my audience became a point I focused on in the rest of my writing for the quarter, including my research proposal. This was one of the writing assignments I enjoyed the most because it allowed me to explore and present my plans for my research hypertext. While there was freedom in the assignment to divide the proposal into sub-heads, I chose to write in a traditional prose but still address the research questions I wished to explore.

After completing the proposal, preparing the proposal presentation was my next major task. I did not previously have much experience with turning a written assignment into a multimedia presentation, so this was my first opportunity to do so. I tried to create a script that captivated the audience by presenting a fictional internet addict and reading a post from an actual internet addict. I also presented my previous knowledge of internet addiction and my research questions without simply reciting my proposal.

The hypertext was my biggest challenge. Not only had I never created my own webpage, but I did not have any experience writing an argument in a non-linear fashion. I discovered that hypertext allows so many new options for writing an argument, and while learning to use Dreamweaver was extremely frustrating, the effort was worth the result. Hypertext allows for nodes to be linked in ways that give the reader the freedom to take different paths through the webpage and experience the argument in different ways. I feel that this has been one of my most beneficial writing projects because it made me aware of the effectiveness of writing in different mediums.

When the research was completed, I had to present it to the class. The research presentation was a multimedia presentation that I had to make sure did not mimic my proposal presentation. I tried to use PowerPoint to present my research outline and I focused on delivering a more serious presentation to match my content. Again, I had to turn my research into a presentation, but in this case, I had much more information to work with. This assignment was another opportunity to strengthen my skills at executing and creating oral presentations.

So, what is all this good for? When I thought about this question, I realized that oral presentations are never going to be a part of my past. I will continue to orally present research and arguments during my time at Stanford, and now I have practiced writing, creating, and delivering multimedia presentations. Even after leaving Stanford, I will be expected to orally deliver presentations in graduate school and in my career. One of the most engaging forms of presenting your point is through oral communication, and because of E-Rhetorics, I am more aware of how to be a better presenter.

2004-03-04T01:29:00.000-08:00

stanford.thefacebook.com.

Earlier this week, I received an email about registering for The Facebook, and I just sort of blew it off, but then I noticed how everyone in my dorm was talking about it. I kept hearing people say stuff like "It's so cool; it's just like Friendster but for Stanford students" or "It's so addictive," and I even heard one girl say she had to turn off her computer, so she could actually get work done. At this point, I decided I should check it out, especially since I had never heard of Friendster, much less used it. I registered and made a profile, but I still couldn't see what was so addicting about the website, but the more I checked it out, the more I could see why people could waste a good bit of time perusing profiles. It's fun, and you have a chance to get some idea of who all the people are that you see in your classes or around campus but don't know very well.

There are several reasons I find this facebook fascination interesting. One is that I just completed a research project on internet addiction, and it just illustrates the point that the internet always has a new aspect to draw a user in. Most Stanford students want to procrastinate, and what's better than procrastinating while "meeting" new people at the same time? Not much. Another intriguing point is that college students are at the highest risk of becoming internet addicts, and after hearing some of my dormmates rant and rave about the facebook, I saw my research personified. Maybe I am just relating every aspect of the internet back to my project, but it seems so relevant. Now students can add the facebook to their list of things to do instead of be productive. All I can do is hope I won't become hooked.

2004-02-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,62434,00.html

File-sharing has been a problem for quite awhile now. I remember hearing and reading about the Napster controversy, and seeing many disappointed faces after it was shut down. However, the demise of Napster did not mean that the days of file-sharing were over. Kazaa and similar programs now enable us to download away. While I was once an innocent bystander watching the action from afar, now I download music. At home, I suffered because of a painful dial-up connection, but the beauty of Ethernet makes downloading fast, simple, and hard to resist. The arguments surrounding the issue seem endless, and because of this heated debate, I try to steer clear of the issue, but a new proposition from the Electronic Frontier Foundation sparked my interest. This group who supports digital-rights is suggesting that file-sharers pay a monthly, voluntary fee to download music that would be distributed to the artists who are most commonly downloaded. I am not sure I understand how this could possibly work. The fee is voluntary, and while there are file-sharers who care about the value of music and supporting musicians, they obviously are not so supportive that they are willing to financially support the cause. They are downloading music illegally after all.

But what is the solution? Perhaps this is a valiant effort to try to solve this problem, but I am not sure that I would pay the fee. Downloading is so convenient that I tend to ignore the fact that it is highly unethical. However, there is some music that I refuse to download. I do not download music by bands or musicians that I feel are talented, but are rising and have not yet received widespread recognition. However, if I want to hear a New Kids on the Block song so I can laugh with my friends about being an 80's baby, I am not going to go track down and pay for an ancient copy of the CD. Everyone has their argument for or against file-sharing, and while it may allow for more people to enjoy more music, there are far more reasons why it is wrong. These artists are working, but not getting paid for it. The question of how to deal with a problem of such magnitude remains.

2004-02-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

I don't understand why people have a tendency to feel so vulnerable and let down their guard on the internet. Perhaps this isn't as big a problem as it may have been in the past, but to some degree, people feel safer on the internet, when in actuality the internet is a scary, dangerous place that can bring crime to a whole new level.

There must be some explanation for why people are so eager to bare their souls when they go online. So, after some contemplation, I decided that many people look to the internet to find a community or a group of people who have similar interests. When internet users discover this community they immediately feel closer to this group of people who share the same interests, thoughts, fear, or situations. This immediate connection makes people feel more comfortable initiating conversation and developing a relationship, which leads to deeper more revealing relationships. This growing relationship develops much more rapidly then most do in real life. People quickly forget that the person sitting at the other computer could be anyone, and instead of behaving cautiously, internet users reveal so much about their personality and lives.

As we have read, this can backfire and become a really undesirable situation. An internet stalker is difficult to uncover and can be intimidating and a huge threat. It is very interesting that when people form relationships in person, the traditional way to develop a friendship or romantic relationship is to take it slow and reveal a little bit of yourself at a time and the more comfortable you feel in the relationship the more you are willing to reveal about your life. The internet is a completely different situation. Most people are ready to jump right in and uncover everything about them. Perhaps they think they will never meet the person, or they have a preconception about how internet relationships should be conducted, or maybe the internet is the only place where they feel someone will listen and understand, but internet users should be careful with their online relationships. Maybe even more careful then they are about their real life relationships.

2004-02-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Women and their relationship with gaming is quite interesting, but I never really gave the whole dilemma much more thought than "Wow, no real woman looks like Lara Craft." However, the relationship clearly has more depth and substance than my observation. I have never been drawn to gaming beyond playing Mario 3 (my all-time favorite game ever) on my Nintendo. Perhaps, that is why I overlooked the fact that woman do not have the same gaming options available to them in comparison to men. Sure, a woman can play a game designed for males, but their character options are either severely limited or consist of inappropriate clothed women with unrealistic bodies. I understand why game creators continue to make games that appeal to men, their primary consumers. However, I think it is unfortunate that women who do enjoy gaming do not have the same options men have. I feel part of the reason this is an issue is because when women do discover their interest in gaming, they rarely venture out to purchase games. They just borrow them from a male friend or family member. If woman became more dedicated consumers, perhaps they would have a wider selection, but that change could take awhile, and besides, we have better things to do.

2004-02-05T15:30:00.000-08:00

Online dating. What a creepy concept. I know tons of people do it, and feel comfortable dating over the internet. I've heard some of the good stories about how people have met their soulmates via to the internet. While internet dating may be a great way to get to know someone, I think the whole idea is a little impractical and can often be dangerous.

Online dating seems impractical for quite a few reasons. Long distance relationships are tough (and yes I speak from experience) even if you already know the person really well and have dated for a long period of time, so dating someone you have never met and lives across the country seems nearly impossible. Trust in that type of relationship must be very rare. I mean how do you know if your significant other is cheating? What really is cheating when you have only met each other once or twice or not at all?

On the scary side, you never know if you're chatting with the person you think you are. A 30-year-old blonde bombshell might be a 70-year-old perverted man. Not only is that gross, but it can led to some dangerous encounters. A person could fall into the wrong hands, or a very disturbed, destructive person might end up taking advantage of someone more vulnerable or naive.

I guess I shouldn't really knock it until I try it. Two of my good friends who dated for about two years met on the internet. I guess it just depends on the situation.

2004-01-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

The internet gives us a lot of freedom, maybe a little too much. We have the option of becoming a completely different person in chat rooms, MUDs, or even instant messaging, and while some may argue that morphing our identities can lead to freedom, I think more often it leads to introversion or identity confusion. People who have struggled with feeling inadequate or disliking a characteristic of their appearance or personality can sit down at their computer, and not only create the person they idealize, but better yet, they can be that person until they leave the keyboard. I think the problem is that these troubled individuals decide not to leave this persona behind, and as a result have trouble leaving their computer, or perhaps when they do decide to remove themselves from this internet environment, they are lost in their creation and lose a sense of their true identity.

At the same time, MUDs and chat rooms can just be for entertainment. The people who explore these internet options are just having fun and staying in character, or if they do take on a new identity, they have control of the situation. The question is why do some people lose all sense of what is reality? Why can some people just have fun while others suffer psychologically because of their created identity? This is yet another mystery of internet psychology.

2004-01-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

Now that I am in E-Rhetorics, I've been taking the dangers of internet use much more seriously. I've been aware of identity theft, interent stalking, and internet addiction, but I never considered any of these problems to be my own personal concerns. Why should I be so sure that I am safe on the internet? I'm just as vulnerable to these dangers as the next person, but for some reason I've allowed myself to feel naively secure on the interent. I am starting to realize that my interent confidence may not be for the best, but even if I consciously thought about the risks of internet use, I do not have any methods to prevent myself from being a victim to these crimes.

I once read an article about a woman who was being followed home by a man who regularly used the interent. He obtained her home address, and then entered a chat room and posed as this woman. Claiming that she enjoyed the rush of "rough sex" and rape, the stalker made this woman's personal information available on the interent and encouraged men to break into her home and rape her. She became a victim of interent stalking without even owning a computer. The interent allows stalking to reach a whole new, scary level.

Internet theft is equally intimidating. I don't know of any specific instances of this problem, but I know that it happens everyday. People often put their credit card numbers and personal information on "secure" sites, but hacking happens, and sadly people can have their whole lives stolen and ruined because of the interent.

Last, but not least, the interent risk I am basing my research project on- the health risks associated with interent use, primarily internet addiction. Those people who are so obsessed with surfing the net that nothing else is satisfying, and they neglect their jobs and families just to spend time on the interent. Internet addiction is on the rise, and being taken more seriously by the medical community then it had been in previous years.

The interent is great. I use it everyday, and I love it, but never did I think the world wide web would become just as scary as the real world.

2004-01-15T12:48:00.000-08:00

Well since I'm a "blogging virgin," I thought I'd break the ice by writing my first entry about the phenomenon that is blogging. I am amazed by how popular blogging has become, and even more amazed that I haven't been sucked in until now. I've spent plenty of my procrastination time reading my friends' online journals, but I've never had the desire to create my own blog, so naturally I'm trying to discover what makes blogging so attractive.

After some thought, I've come to the conclusion that for some, blogging is a way to present their thoughts to the public. People passionate about social and political material have the option of expressing their thoughts and getting feedback from the public. For others, an online journal is a way to make your diary not so private. Some people display their fears, challenges, joys, anxiety, and sadness over the internet for the world to see, which seems a preposterous notion. In reality though, knowing that someone will eventually read about your feelings and emotions has the ability to put people at ease and make them feel less alone in the world. Besides all these factors, blogging is trendy and fun. You read a friend's online journal, and think "I could do that. In fact, I will do that," and blogging begins to catch on, or maybe you are required to create a blog for class. Whatever the case may be, blogging has found its place in the electronic world.

Now it's my turn to find my place in the blogging world. Good luck self.