You know when there is that kid in your class who pretends to know everything, but doesn’t.  Yet his lies are so convincing that you believe him.  That is kind of what the internet is turning into.  There is so much information out there and so much of it is bogus.

That’s not to say that we don’t gain a lot by having that information out there is just means we have to be more cautious about what we tend to regard as legitimate information.  For instance just because you google something and get an answer that supports your viewpoint from some random source, doesn’t mean that the source or the information is correct.  There is so much information out there that you can pretty much search for anything and find a corresponding viewpoint.  So next time someone validates themselves through google, you take a second step back and tell them their an idiot.

  One amazing advancement of the internet since its inception, is the ability to do online courses.  This opens up way more options for people looking to upgrade their education, or complete a degree.  People can now work two jobs and still take University calibre courses, or upgrade courses that they have missed and are unable to end physically.

Of course people don’t get the same recognition that they might by actually attending Universities, but it is an excellent starting point.  As well for people who just want to learn more it provides them a challenging and based on your viewpoint an entertaining form of doing that.  It is obviously not right for everyone but at the very least you can gain new understanding and insights into new territories of knowledge.

  Downloading content over the internet has become a major epidemic, depending on your view that is.  Some people argue that through downloading things like movies and music it takes money away from hardworking individuals and companies.  To some extent I agree with this statement, but at the same time I think it forces artist to be more creative and captivating than before.

Instead of artist cashing off of their names and producing crappy CD’s with two good songs out of twelve, it forces companies to make people want to but their creations.  To make the content worth buying!  Even movies that are put on DVD, its easy to download but if the movie creates and experience that is unforgettable your going to want to purchase it.

  On-line video games have taken on a whole new life.  People have become fully immersed in rich photo-realistic 3D environments.  These games are escapes from real life into a brand new existence.  These environments not only look real, but for many people are more real than every day life.  What started out as a way to escape reality for some has bread into a new life.

Online games are great way to escape every day life and basically escape reality, they are fun immersive and when used in moderation can provide relief from unavoidable stressors.  Like creating online identities it also allows you to be someone else, and provides you freedom to act in a way that may not be typically suitable in normal life.

  I find it so interesting when people talk about identity creation among cyberspace.  If you ask me identity creation is a great practice to try.  It doesn’t really even have to be that extreme, but for people who are shy, or don’t take any risks this can give them a chance to break free of their self-perceived stereotype. 

 

  Even people who like to go out and experience what it is like to be in the body of the opposite sex.  Obviously you wont be able to experience everything, but you might be able to pick up on little things.  Maybe you can take the time to analyze patterns you might employ and others find offensive, but you never would realize until you put yourself in someone else’s position.

 

  New identities come without boundaries as well, it allows people to do things that they might not be able to in real life.  For those who have physical restraints, they can gain the ability to be a fully functioning person, even though it isn’t physically real, it is virtually real, which to some people is more real than real itself.

  Now I’m not going to lie, I like to check my Facebook 3 or 4 times daily, sure you n=know we all do it.  It’s kind of scary how dependant some people are on the internet these days.  Like I will admit checking my Facebook 3-4 times daily that’s starting to get bad, but what about people who check it every second moment.  For some people this is a fad, for me it lasted about 2 months where I would check it about 6 times daily, but some people are out of control.

 

  Those who are truly addicts don’t even realize it.  For me I can separate from the computer fairly easy, at the same time who knows how long I could live without one?  For me probably not long, I need it to do my work.  I have been in classes where separation from a computer is mandatory, you may have access but you have to deny the temptation.  I have noticed others without this practice are unable to separate from the machine for longer that stretches of ten minutes.  It’s like smoking, people need their fill, for me this isn’t a big deal, usually.  However people don’t realize that typing on keyboards is just as bad as talking when other people are presenting or talking.  For me its even worse, its less direct.  People’s realities tend to become skewed when in the presence of the computer.  They believe they are in another world.  Maybe it’s the fact they feel more comfortable on the computer, maybe we are just so conditioned to be working at such a high speed that are minds get bored and we need something to stimulate us?

 

  Art in general has morphed itself and become incredibly diverse.  From painting, sculpture, to the unsettling art is everywhere and it is something to everyone.  Art usually attempts to have one of two things in common; first that it is creative, or second that it represents something to various degrees.

 

  Online Art in my opinion is some of the most creative art in the world today.  Online interactive art is intensely creative.  The most desirable part of most online works is that it is unfinished, or interactive.  Its not meant to be admired behind a glass case, it is online to be changed altered, destroyed, improved.  Meaning every viewer gets a new experience from a piece and has a chance to alter it in a way that they seem fit.

 

  In a way it gives art to the people who want to experience it.  The best part and probably why it may not be considered as important as art in a gallery is that you can access it from your home.  This does create complications through finding it, but it allows for more personal interpretation, where as at a Gallery it may be more pre-formed.

 

  Another important aspect of online artwork is it really gives you an appreciation of how diverse and immense the amount of artwork is.  It also demonstrates how truly gifted some of the people who produce it are, and allows the normal everyday person to experience it.

 

  It seems that more and more information is being represented on the internet everyday.  Information on any conceivable topic can be found easily, that doesn’t necessarily mean that validity is present but it does at least give people a framework in which to work from.

 

  However now it seems as though everything is carried throught the internet.  T.V. stations are increasingly broadcasting full length episodes of shows on their websites, and TSN has broadcasted full live events (World Junior Hockey Championship in December) on their website. TBS has full episodes of the Bill Engvall show available for viewing so if you miss an episode you can simply navigate to the website and watch it.

 

  Everything seems to be aimed at least being applicable to the internet.  Most of the arts are represented through the internet, or the availability to download shows, music, events.  As computes gets faster and more powerful, you can do more things with, you can spend more time on them and so forth.  It seems that more information is being filtered through the internet everyday, people will literally live inside their computers!

 

  Social Networks for some are portals to others, friends, family; a form of communication.  Some like to talk with old acquaintances, others like to show of how outrageous they are, depending on who you are you may have a different opinion of a program like Facebook . 

 

  The big attraction of sites like Facebook is how easy it is to access information and stay connected to others.  When does it become dangerous? When do we begin to show too much of ourselves?  Potential employers sometimes access profiles to find out what type of person they may employ.  Some people don’t even realize that they are being looked at to find if they would be a valuable asset to companies.  Some companies might not want to hire someone who conveys a bad image of themselves through pictures, videos or other media.

 

  This is a hard topic to deal with, because first off the internet is a public space.  So technically anyone is allowed to access content from it, so if people are putting up pictures of drugs, orgies and such, they really have no one to blame but themselves.  To not hire someone based on the fact that they may have attended a couple of parties through University is absurd. 

 

  For most people Social Networks are a way to showcase themselves to their friends, to let them see what type of personality they have.  It’s hard to say just why people feel the need to showcase themselves in different ways online.  These networks do allow people to be part of something, allowing themselves to showcase themselves to a larger group of people. Social Networks are kind of like high school, everyone wants to be part of the cool online fads, and abandon the ones that are aging and dying out I guess?

 

  The problem is that people believe the internet is so vast that no one cares about their information.  Which is an unrealistic idea, ton of people are interested in the information.  Regardless of their motivations people want this information, whether to look at pictures of events they missed, or to stalk someone, people have uses for the information.  There is just so much information out there that unless someone is specifically looking for your information they may never find you.  However random attacks do happen social networks allow for the information to be easily accessible, and organized, just something to think about when using these networks. 

 

 

  Sociology of Cyberspace has been an interesting course thus far and has brought to mind some interesting concepts, involving research, dependency on technology, perceptions, and adaptations involving technology.

  The biggest thing this class has brought to my attention is how widely researched the internet, and people who use the internet is.  For me the internet or more broadly ‘cyberspace’, was a relatively new concept and idea, maybe not so much were I didn’t think it was studied but the fact that it was studied so in depth.  Not only about studying in depth but the different perceptions that revolve around cyberspace and the methods people use to study and justify these perceptions.

  The cognitive ability of the people who were able to perceive these new worlds and new forms of worlds is immense.  To think of this vast space that holds so much information, and I have never really perceived this space in such abstract ways.  For me it has always been electronic transfers from one computer through to a network, nodes, and more computers.  The idea to perceive an entirely new world as vast and as in detail as guys like Gibson, and Benedikt, is so impressive.  It makes me want to go and look at more “cyberpunk” authors and find out more of their ideas.

  Through this class you already see how vast ‘cyberspace’ is and its perception is totally up to every individual to come up with their own idea of how this space is represented.  The biggest thing for me is where is this technology going?  Is it going to be finite? Are we always going to have the internet?  Most likely we will have internet or at least cyberspace in some form or another for quite a while.  At the same time, how is it going to evolve, how long until corporations infect every aspect of the world wide web as they do with television and magazines.   These corporations are already starting to jam themselves down people’s throats through things like pop-ups and viruses and so forth.

  The biggest realization for me in this class is how interactive the internet can be.  The internet in its nature is interactive, however people have found ways to take it to the next level.  People who spend hours or days on specific sites creating identities for themselves, raising their statuses, and making money by living online;  It’s the ability for people to adapt to new ideas, to be part of something that is new and exciting.  My only concern is when people become willingly or forcefully ‘switched off’, will these people be able to adapt in the same way?  It is tough to say, but in this new age you always have to be ready and equipped to make new decisions, and adapt to new ways of life.