Many wonder, including myself, whether Twitter is useful in society and if it is “the future of online marketing.” Scott Fox talks about why he thinks that Twitter is over and has “jumped the shark” in his article Twitter has Jumped the Shark on his website scottfox.com.

Scott Fox is a lifestyle entrepeneur, blogger, podcaster, and an author. He has written Click Millionaires, e-Riches 2.0, and, Internet Riches. He considers himself a “Click Millionaire,” as he works part-time on projects that he enjoys with no boss. He does not necessarily make a million dollars online, but he enjoys helping others in finding satisfying, ethical work that you may enjoy to allow you more flexibility, independence, and creativity to live like a millionaire every day.

Twitter
Source: Mother Nature Network

Scott Fox brings up five seperate reasons for why he does not support Twitter as an online marketing tool. First, he states that Twitter is too easy to use. People are easily capable of babbling about random nonsense, and this is where this happens. Spamming often occurs because it is more acceptable on Twitter. Twitter is used for conversation, however spam is taking over the conversation with little real interaction among users.

Second, there is little synchronicity. Those who are in different time zones tend to have lag time inbetween posts. This allows for insufficient interaction between people if they want to continue a conversation every minute. For those who are in a different country than you, they are basically “virtually invisible” on Twitter.

Third, people with more than a million followers, or even hundreds of thousands of followers, probably get positive reactions when tweeting something interesting. Many find that those who have a great number of followers already are a celebrity or devote their time solely to social media because this is their job. However, for those who are beginning marketers and small businesses, it is very difficult to have some thousand followers.

Fourth, automation tends to be an issue on Twitter. Twitter has allowed partners to share APIs and data, which has allowed a large ecosystem of Twitter apps and tools. However, this has created a system in which it is easier to “pre-schedule, re-tweet, and manage multiple Twitter accounts” without having any value or even human presence.

Lastly, Twitter is allowing an increased use of advertising. Now, if you have twitter, you may already know that there are several advertisements that are there. This will cause a “deathly crowded Twittersphere” that will be unwanted by many users.

Twitter Ads
Source: What’s Your Digital IQ

Twitter used to be a simple place for people to have open conversation and marketing with the public population. I do not have a Twitter because I do not find it useful in anyway to my life. I am only aware of people using it to inform other people, such as friends or family, as to what they are doing and where they are. Others use Twitter so that they are aware of celebrities they like and can find out where they are and what they are doing. With Twitter becoming more advanced in unnecessary ways, there may be a decrease in users over time.

There is a continuous fight between tech companies, such as Google and Microsoft, to influence consumers to use their Web browsers. Claire Cain Miller talks about the current rising issue in her article Browser Wars Flare Again, on Little Screens in the NY Times.

Claire Cain Miller is is part of the San Francisco bureau of The Times. She currently covers Google, ecommerce, start-ups, and technology and how it has changed the way we live. She previously was a senior reporter at Forbes and co-produced the Midas List. She has focused her reporting on a range of topics, from health, philanthropy, and to women in business. She graduated from Yale University and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Browser Icons
Source: webappers.com

Many people are unaware of what a “web browser” is, if asked the question directly. However, little do they may know that they use a browser every time they use the Internet. As the use of browsers have increased, people have learned to store information online, such as Web apps, documents, and photos. Since people are growing to use these, businesses are fighting for people to use their browsers. The use of browsers give companies more control of how people use their products. Companies also learn how people use the Internet, and the companies can improve the overall experience of the population, knowing their interests.

Now that a very high percentage of the current U.S. population have mobile devices with Internet availability, people are browsing the Web with them. Because of this, companies are accomodating to this population by providing faster connection and better availability of Web sites. Although there are certain difficulties with mobile Web browsing, companies such as Google are working to improve the experience, by allowing shopping or playing games on the mobile Web.

“New mobile browsers let people swipe through tabs with their fingers, automatically resize or zoom in on Web pages so they fit a phone’s screen and load pages faster than older mobile browsers. Some also sync with other devices, so things like most-visited Web sites, passwords and credit card numbers are available everywhere.”

For me, I am very out of the loop when it comes to the competition between different browsers and companies. Honestly, I have been using the same browser that was originally downloaded onto my laptop, which is Safari. I am aware that people tend to use Firefox or Google Chrome because they are more reliable and faster, but I do not really care about the small differences they may have.

As many other people, I did not care much about browsers, but simply cared about what is on the Web. However, this article has helped me see that there are large differences in browsers and that it is important to choose one of my liking to support the company that I feel is most reliable and convenient. Before this article, I would not have been able to define what a web browser really is, if asked the question at random.

As many have heard, the C.I.A. chief David Petraeus had his secret affair revealed with his Gmail account. Although he was not being blatantly obvious with this affair, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was able to determine this scandal by secretly going through his emails.

As found on biography.com, U.S. Army General David Petraeus was highly respected as a “brilliant thinker and leader.” He is known as the man who saved America in Iraq, along with being a potential president in the future. However, people are now questioning not only his ethics but also his ideas and achievements. Although many people of high stature have had scandals before, many are still respected because of their great influence on society. However, we must wonder if the same will happen to David Petraeus and his scandalous affair with Paula Broadwell.

According to Wikipedia, Paula Broadwell is an American writer, and known as an academic and anti-terrorism professional. Paula was the valedictorian of her high school class, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point majoring in political geography, and earned a master’s degree in international security from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. She served in both the United States Army and the United States Army Reserve. Previously, the FBI offered her a job due to her qualifications and experience, but decided to attend Harvard University.

Paula Broadwell met David Petraeus when he spoke at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. As a graduate student, she was interested in him and his work. For her doctoral dissertation, she included a case study of his leadership. Later, she also co-authored All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, a biography of David Petraeus. The scandal’s revealing started with anonymous threatening and harrassing emails sent to Jill Kelley. Kelley contacted the FBI to trace these emails and Broadwell was found on the other side. The jist of the emails were that Broadwell suspected Kelley of having an affair with General David Petraeus, a friend of Kelley’s.

David Petraeus Mistress Afair Cheating Scandal
Source: lalate.com

How can you ensure that your privacy is kept private? The Yahoo article Trying to Keep Your E-Mails Secret When the C.I.A. Chief Couldn’t gives the public tips on how to keep “skeletons in your digital closet.”

This article was written by Nicole Perlroth, a technology reporter for The New York Times. She typically covers topics of cybersecurity and privacy for both the Bits blog and for print. She previously was the deputy editor at Forbes, and covered venture capital and Web Start-ups. Along with all this, she produced the Midas List, Forbes’s annual ranking of top tech deal makers. Although she mainliy focuses on topics regarding technology, her range of interest and articles are diverse, from food, bioethics, and to education. Her articles may earn extra credit especially as a graduate of Princeton University and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

For simplicity, here is a list of pointers that are laid out:

1. Know Your Adversary: Be aware of the person or people who are attempting to find your secret information.
2. Hide Your Location: This can be done by masking the I.P. address using Tor, or using a virtual private network.
3. Go Off the Record: Choose the “off the record” feature on Google Talk
4. Encrypt Your Messages: GPG, an e-mail encryption service, can help pretect secrets from eavesdroppers.
5. Set Your Self-Destruct Timer: Use 10 Minute Mail, a service that allows users to open an email & send a message, & the address will self-destruct in 10 minutes.
6. Drop the Draft Folder Idea: Saving e-mails in a shared draft folder is not safe and should be avoided.
7. Use Only a Designated Device: Use a separate, designated device for sensitive communication.
8. Get an Alibi: Find an explanation for why you are hiding something.
9. Don’t Mess Up: It is easy to make one little mistake that will end with a large consequence. Don’t forget to follow these rules or you may be subject to these consequences.

It seems like a lot of precautions to take to ensure privacy, regardless of the content being secured. However, if one of these steps are overlooked, then it is quite easy for someone who is looking for information to find it.

What is scary to most is that people do not realize that once anything is said over the Internet, it is logged and accessible. The only safe way of making sure that secrets are kept secure is by not saying anything at all.

Overall I find this article and source to be very reliable. Although many of these pointers may be obvious, we may not be consciously thinking about them. Actually reading these and comparing them to how we live our lives definitely influences us on how and where we interact with others.

THE LOSS AT BURNING MAN

A Screenplay by Veronica Koo

Based on a novel by Cory Doctorow

Fade In:

1. Burning Man Festival grounds –

A college student, Marcus, lies alone in a deserted patch of the Nevada desert. He slowly looks up and around him, noticing that no one is near. He starts to panic, and look around vigorously.

Male College Student’s Voice (MARCUS)
ANGE? ANGE!

No sign of female college student, Ange. Marcus stands up, runs around in a circle to get a better visual, but no sign of Ange. He sees the Burning Man Festival grounds from afar, and starts running towards the grounds. He reaches the edge of the Festival grounds, stops running and walks around. He looks into several tents to see if there is any sign of Ange.

MARCUS
Hi Ma’am, have you seen a young female college student, short with black Buddy Holly glasses? Her name is Ange.

ELDERLY WOMAN
Why yes dear, I just gave her some water, she looked parched.

MARCUS
Do you know where she went? I need to find her, it is important.

ELDERLY WOMAN
Of course sweety, she went towards the dance circle. She said she needed to take a loud off and immerse herself in the crowd.

MARCUS
Thank you for letting me know. I’ll go on finding her now.

ELDERLY WOMAN
Would you like any water or snacks dear? You also look parched and exhausted. Here, take these.

Elderly woman hands Marcus a water bottle and fruit snacks packets. Marcus takes them and smiles.

MARCUS
I haven’t eaten for a day. You have no idea how much this means to me.

ELDERLY WOMAN
Anytime dear. Let me know if you need more food and drinks, or anything else.

The elderly woman winked. Marcus smiled, and walked away. Marcus walks towards the dance circle from a far distance, and sees a large crowd of people. He enters the dance circle and looks around at the people. No sign of Ange so far. He looks closer at the faces and sees Ange. He couldn’t recognize her because of the face paint on her face. He runs towards her with relief.

MARCUS
ANGE! Finally I found you! What are you doing here?

ANGE
Shhhhh. Don’t say my name too loud. When Masha gave you the “THING”, I think we were being followed or someone overheard. I think someone wants what you have.

Marcus froze. He didn’t know what to say or do. He had a blank look on his face.

MARCUS
Have you seen Masha, Zeb, or Carrie?

ANGE
No sign so far, but you never know where they’ll turn up.

MARCUS
Well, I still have a mystery. How did I end up in the middle of the desert? I woke up and no one was around me.

ANGE
What do you mean? I lost you last night, we were separated in a big rush to go to the burning of an elephant statue. I tried to look for you but you were nowhere to be found.

Background dance music starts playing louder, and they get distracted and start dancing a little.

MARCUS
Wait wait. We should step out and talk. This is important.

Marcus leads Ange outside of the dance circle, and they sit down on a bench.

MARCUS
If we really do have a problem and people are trying to find us, we need to keep cover. We should get along with our neighbors and stay with people at all times.

ANGE
Right. That sounds great to me. Now first thing is first, where is the “THING”?

MARCUS
It’s in my left chest pocket. That’s where I left it.

ANGE
Well, make sure you still have it there.

MARCUS
Right.

Marcus checks his left chest pocket. He turns it inside out. Nothing. He checks his other jacket pockets. Nothing. He checks his pants pockets and all pockets possible. Still nothing. Marcus looks at Ange with a pale, sweaty face.

MARCUS
Ange. I think we have a problem….

-Scene Ends.

As you may know, my previous blog was about the first ten chapters of Little Brother. This blog will be discussing the following chapters till the end of this novel. I will also talk about the sequel to this novel, Homeland.

Now in the these last chapters, Marcus, the protagonist, allows many of the people who use his Xnet technology to be caught by the DHS because of their private, personal use. He himself becomes a terrorist and causes trouble with his program.

He ends up having to tell his parents and his friend’s parents about the whole chaos that has occurred with the DHS, especially since Darryl is still in prison. Slowly their story of torture from the DHS expands to other people, such as a DHS undercover operative. This woman, Masha, wants to help Marcus and believes that what the DHS is doing is uncalled for.

This novel continues to discuss the voyage the Marcus must take ot expose the DHS for what it has done. After the exciting ending of this novel, Cory Doctorow writes a sequel to the novel, with the first few chapters revealed.

Homeland by Cory Doctorow
Source: TOR.com

This next novel starts in the setting of the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, where Marcus and Ange enjoy themselves in the festivities. However, shortley after they are enjoying themselves, Marcus runs into Masha. She seems to expect him and she has something to give him. Masha leads Marcus out of the temple and into a secretive place for them to talk and exchange. Masha does not tell Marcus what she is giving him, for his own safety. He is given instructions to meet her after the burning of the “Library of Alexandria.”

However, as Marcus continues his experience at the Burning Man festival, he soon realizes that whatever he was given by Masha will greatly change his future. I hope that Cory Doctorow will soon release the rest of this novel, which I believe will be next year in 2013.

So far, I have greatly enjoyed Doctorow’s novel Little Brother, and I hope all his readers have enjoyed his novel as well. He has provided captivating adventures and twists that many people can learn from and enjoy.

Read Little Brother Here

In 2007, Little Brother was published, bringing us into the world of cryptography, terrorism, and computer hackers. This novel was written by Cory Doctorow.

Cory Doctorow
Source: Wikipedia

Cory Doctorow is a journalist, blogger, and science fiction author. He was born in Ontario, Canada and is still alive today. He is an activist in favor of liberalizing copyright laws. His work includes themes of digital rights management, file sharing, and post-scarcity economics. Doctorow became the first Independent Studies Scholar in Virtual Residence at the University of Waterloo. He is a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Open University in the United Kingdom.

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, with one of his popular works being Little Brother.

Little Brother is set in San Francisco, California. This story focuses on four teenagers who are accused of being involved in a terrorist attack on the Bay Bridge and BART transportation system. During the first few chapters, this story is being illustrated as they first start at school. As his friends play hooky, this is when they encounter an explosion. They are taken in by the DHS and are relentlessly questioned and accused. The cops believed they Marcus and his friends were terrorists from Al Queda. However, Marcus did not give in to their petty questioning and rudeness so he kept strong and withdrew information.

After Marcus and his friends are released from prison, they continue to run into issues with the DHS. For example, the DHS put a bug in Marcus’s laptop. In order to avoid this issue, he makes a new system called the ParanoidLinux in order to communicate secretly. He encourages others to use this system as they communicate secretly.

The story continues with Marcus and xnetters “jamming” people’s orphids, which are done by changing their information. This caused the DHS to be suspicious of everyone with these changed arphids.

We see how technology and communication can change our connection with the world. This technology, ParanoidLinux, allows anyone to communicate with any other, without any eyes seeing their conversation, including the police. This may be quite alarming since there are very dangerous people who can use this to many others’ disadvantage.

I found this book so far to be intriguing and captivating. Doctorow stresses the importance of privacy and how this is often breached. Although this is not the focal point of his work, I found this to be most important for me. As we know, all of our information is constantly readily accessed for anyone to see, because there are several ways of hacking systems on the Internet. This novel brings to the surface the underlying issues that may occur today, particulary with the Department of Homeland Security.

As this only covers the first ten chapters of the novel, I will be discussing the rest of the book in my next blog.

As we’ve seen in past events, Twitter has been an influential network that has exposed news to many people. The following authors dive into the issue of when copious information was released on Twitter during the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions.

SocialFlow
Source: SocialFlow Twitter

Gilad Lotan is the vice president of Research & Development at SocialFlow. SocialFlow is a network that assists businesses in increasing their audience engagement. SocialFlow uses Twitter to determine “clicks per Tweet” and “clicks per Follower” because these seem to be important to growing a large social media.

Web Ecology Project
Source: Web Ecology Project Twitter

Erhardt Graeff is the founding member, Devin Gaffney is the managing director, & Ian Pearce is a web ecologist of the Web Ecology Project. Web Ecology Project focuses on the preservation of digital culture. It is a research group in Boston that attempts to incorporate a science that connects community management and social media.

Microsoft Research
Source: Microsoft Research

Mike Ananny was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Microsoft Research’s Social Media Collective, and danah boyd is a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research. Microsoft created a research center that works on developing computer science ideas along with integrating these into Microsoft products.

In the International Journal of Communication, these authors wrote the journal, The Revolutions Were Tweeted: Information Flows During the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions. The information discussed in this journal are collected from the Tunisian demonstrations from January 12-19, 2011, and the Egyptian demonstrations from January 24-29, 2011. There are many different kinds and types of tweets that are released on the Internet by several people. These include:

• Mainstream media organizations (“MSM”): news and media organizations that have both digital and non-digital outlets

• Mainstream new media organizations: blogs, news portals, or journalistic entities that exist solely online

• Non-media organizations: groups, companies, or organizations that are not primarily news-oriented

• Mainstream media employees (“journalists”): individuals employed by MSM organizations, or who regularly work as freelancers for MSM organizations

• Bloggers: individuals who post regularly to an established blog, and who appear to identify as a blogger on Twitter

• Activists: individuals who self-identify as an activist, who work at an activist organization, or who appear to be tweeting purely about activist topics to capture the attention of others

• Digerati: individuals who have worldwide influence in social media circles and are, thus, widely followed on Twitter

• Political actors: individuals who are known primarily for their relationship to government

• Celebrities (“celebs”): individuals who are famous for reasons unrelated to technology, politics, or activism

• Researchers: an individual who is affiliated with a university or think-tank and whose expertise seems to be focused on Middle East issues

• Bots: accounts that appears to be an automated service tweeting consistent content, usually in extraordinary volumes

• Other: accounts that do not clearly fit into any category.

These several groups were identified among the tweeters who talked about the Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions.

Actor Type Distribution for Tunisia & Egypt
Source: Journal

I thought it was very interesting to see that a quarter of all tweets were labeled in the “Other” category. This shows that the great majority of tweets are created by commoners, those who are not directly exposed to these issues or demographics but may have opinions, professional ones or not. On the other side, the smallest contributions were made by the political actors. I find this very interesting, yet not very surprising. Those in the government tend to avoid speaking out about such revolutionary issues. This is true especially on the Internet, since once a person says anything on the web it will stay accessible forever. With political people, they are always weary of what they say to the public since their words can be interpreted in several ways, many of which they didn’t intend.

With this in mind, we should obviously consider the actual population that uses Twitter and tweets often.  Although I am not fully aware of the concentration of constant tweeters compared to those who only signed up for Twitter but do not tweet, I can safely assume that there is a somewhat even distribution among Twitter subscribers, however the people who actually write tweets regularly are everyday people with nine to five jobs. These tweeters talk about their personal experiences, struggles, or public affairs. They may have passion for a certain issue, and these Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions are no exception. So in my opinion, this distribution shown on the pie chart is not surprising.

Volume of Tweets Over Time
Source: Journal

 

We find that there is a common trend in retweeting, in the sense that there is a initial wave of retweeting immediately after the tweet is posted. However, after an hour or so the tweet dies down and no longer is posted. Then there is always another spike when someone else discovers the tweet and thus the cycle occurs again, but not as dramatically as the first retweets. I specifially chose this tweet to recapture because I thought the message was peculiar. This quote that is attached to the police guard gives these people a humane side, in the sense that they are only doing as they are told so that they will not be fired. However, it makes people wonder whether these certain people are just weak and do not have the will to stand up for themselves. Obviously they would not post this on Twitter, but because someone else did it shows a different perspective that people may not be able to see.

Overall I thought this article was eye-opening in the sense of the population of tweeters that are exposed to these revolutions. It confirmed that people of all different actor types are following the Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions, along with using Twitter to tweet about these events.

Read: 10 Theses on WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks has struck our society with open eyes, as this international online organization continuously publishes secret information and classified media from anonymous sources. This website was launched in 2006 and claimed more than 1.2 million documents within a year of the website’s opening.

Source

On the Tactical Media Files website, Geert Lovink & Patrice Riemens write about the ten theses on WikiLeaks.

Geert Lovink is a media theorist, net critic, and activist. He studied political science at the University of Amsterdam for her M.A. & received her Ph.D. at the University of Melbourne. In 2004, Lvoink was appointed as researc professor at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam & associate professor at University of Amsterdam. Patrice Riemens is a geographer. He is currently the Fellow of the Waag Society in Amsterdam. He is a member of the staff of Multitudes, a French philosophical, political & artistic monthly journal that focuses on the further elaboration of the philosophical & political thought of the Italian operaismo.

These 10 theses focus on WikiLeaks and revolution that it has brought to our Internet culture. The these that I thought was most important and relevant to how I view WikiLeaks.

These 10.

“We do not think that taking a stand in favor or against Wikileaks is what matters most. Wikileaks is there, and there to stay till it either scuttles itself or is destroyed by the forces opposing its operation. Our point is rather to (try to) pragmatically assess and ascertain what Wikileaks can, could  – and maybe even, who knows, should – do, and help formulate how ‘we’ could relate to and interact with Wikileaks. Despite all its drawbacks, and against all odds, Wikileaks has rendered a sterling service to the cause of transparency, democracy and openness. We might wish it to be different, but, as the French would say, if something like it did not exist, it would have to be invented. The ‘quantitative turn’ of information overload is a fact of present life. One can only expect the glut of disclosable information to grow further – and exponentially so. To organize and interpret this Himalaya of data is a collective challenge that is out there, whether we give it the name ‘Wikileaks’ or not.”

WikiLeaks provides a safe space for whistleblowers to release secure information for the better of our society. The writers and publishers are not attempting to take any side on political issues. They simply want to inform the public so that they may create their own opinions on these issues.

Read: Nine Propositions Towards a Cultural Theory of YouTube
Blogged by Henry Jenkins

YouTube
Source: YouTube to 3GP

YouTube has changed the face of social networking over the Internet. Henry Jenkins talks about this Internet culture in a blog from his official weblog “Confessions of an Aca-Fan.” This blog, “Nine Propositions Towards a Cultural Theory of YouTube,” is just a section of his talk that he gave at the “What’s So Significant about Social Networking?: Web 2.0 and Its Critical Potential” plenary session. He talks about nine ideas that Youtube incorporate YouTube to our contemporary culture.

Henry Jenkins III was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and is still alive today at the age of 54. He earned his M.A. in Communication Studies at the Univeristy of Iowa, and his Ph.D. in Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is currently a Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, & Cinematic Arts at both the USC Annenberg School for Communication & the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He is an American media scholar and is known for his theories of “world-making” and “media convergence.”

Henry Jenkins
Source: Wikipedia

In Jenkin’s blog, he states nine different points interconnecting YouTube and contemporary culture. The first point he makes is that YouTube provides a space where “commercial, amateur, nonprofit, governmental, educational, and activist content co-exists and interacts in more complex ways.” Next, YouTube in his perspective is a place where specific communities of practice make public their content and information. This creates a form of cultural collaboration, which he believes to be the most powerful stance that YouTube has in our culture. YouTube is also a site where amateur curators are able to look at the commercial content and re-present them in different ways for various communities of consumers. His fourth point is that YouTube has shifted from the era of stickiness towards the era of spreadability. The era of stickiness is when the goal was to “attract & hold spectators on your site,” while the era of spreadability is when “active agency of consumers in creating value and heightening awareness through circulation of media content” is emphasized.

Next, Jenkins states that YouTube provides an important space for citizen journalists, where all can see recordings of anything. Now that many people have access to cameras, availability of stories and images are immense. YouTube also embodies a “particular opportunity for translating participatory culture into civic engagement.”  For example, YouTube may benefit Obama in his presidential campaign. YouTube also helps us to see the changes that occur in the cultural economy. Furthermore, social networking is considered an important social skill and cultural competency among young people. As YouTube as grown and become more complex, there is a participation gap and digital divide that is occurring. Lastly, YouTube has shown us that a “participatory culture is not necessarily a diverse culture.” Although diverse people may have access, white middle class males are contributing most to the content.

I agree with all of Jenkins’ points about the interaction between YouTube and our current culture. I find that many of these points have not changed drastically over time, but only in the sense that technology has advanced a lot since the past five years.

For the next part of this blog, I will be focusing on one of the points that Jenkins proposes. This point will be the one stating that YouTube has provided a space for people to post videos and images of events that may be hard to usually record. This access has been increasingly readily available. There are phones that are being advertised because of its amazing camera and capabilities to produce high quality videos and images. A great example of this is the contest that was created, where owners of a particular phone will have to create a short video with it and post it on YouTube.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAafD_64ZgE[/youtube]

This YouTube video shows the awesome capabilities that cell phones have now with their cameras. The resolution is unique and the quality overall is decent.

Video games have always been seen as having a negative impact on people’s lives by making them feel lazy and regressing their development of social interaction. However, Jane McGonigal poses another side of video games that we tend to forget exists. The following is about an excerpt from Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal, published in 2011 by The Penguin Press.

Jane McGonigal
Source: EVOKE

Jane McGonigal is an American game designer who specializes in pervasive games and alternate reality games (ARGs). Currently, she is the Director of Game Research & Development at the Institute for the Future, while being the Chief Creative Officer at SuperBetter Labs. She previously taught game design and game studies at the San Francisco Art Institute & UC Berkeley. Many years ago Jane had suffered from a serious concussion, and she created a multiplayer game for anyone to play to help her get through this time. She has received many awards for being a powerful woman in the video gaming world.

First, McGonigal talks about how many full-day workers are the people who consume videogames, and apply the talents that are underutilized at work. These smarts are used to plan and coordinate “complex raids and quests in massively multiplayer online games.” Also, she continues to state how real life should be structured as a game, and how videogames bring together people in ways that reality cannot.

“The truth is this: in today’s society, computer and video games are fulfilling genuine human needs that the real world is currently unable to satisfy. Games are providing rewards that reality is not. They are teaching and inspiring and engaging us in ways that reality is not. They are bringing us together in ways that reality is not.”

Jane attempts to justify this statement by talking about the opening book of The Histories, in which stories of Herodotus and the ancient Lydians showed how games may be a purposeful escape.

However, I find Jane’s argument a little extreme and close-minded. Although there are skills that are utilized while playing video games, these skills are rarely used in real life situations. For example, in first-person shooter games, players are required to use guns to shoot other players or targets. This skill is not used in any way in real life, because the mechanics of using the gun in the game are completely different than when using a gun in person.

Video Games
Source: The Gaea Times

Overall I enjoyed reading this excerpt because it was very interesting to read this perspective. I have never heard of such an argument so it was peculiar to understand her reasoning, although they did not persuade me to agree with her.

Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World