Shirley Clay’s chapter 9 reading Dodgeball and Social Networking isn’t the most scholarly written work we’ve had, but it is one of the most informative. We all had a grey understanding of the dynamics of social networking and circles, but her words gave great elaboration to how they directly affect social incidents. In return, she makes “What a small world incidents” more like “What a small world of personal, social, and physical elements that increase the likelihood that we would know each other or the same people” incidents.
This is because these ‘small world’ incidents, such as meeting a person on a plane who turns out to be a friend of a friend, can really be stripped down to the relative reasons you two would know each other. Going to and coming from the same locations, working in careers that demand or allow you to travel, even sitting in seats of equal price range might increase the chances that you two are distantly connected. Even low connected people are bound to share a highly connected contact, such as all the acquaintances of Joi Ito, who then formed direct relationships through IRC channels.
Although social networking is a theory of communication which has existed as long as class systems, the difference today is the social networking tools which work to connect certain people or groups of people. Dodgeball for instance, designed for mobile phone use, bringing together people in the same place at the same time, sharing the same social contacts. There is also networks who bring together those with similar values or passions, like dogster for dog owners, or asmallworld, a social network for the socially networked.
There is one aspect of communication that networking increases which was overlooked in this chapter. This is what it does for those outside of social circles, who could share as many of the same characteristics or even stereotypes as those heavily involved in social circles share. Clay touched on this idea in Here Comes Everybody, when discussing weblogs (2008). “The most connected weblogs are thousands of times more connected than ordinary weblogs are, while ordinary weblogs, with a few readers, are far more likely to be part of a densely connected cluster”(Pg. 218).
On a personal note, I once hit it off with a girl in my class after we both discovered neither of us had facebook. We both felt comfortable knowing neither of us were dedicated to superficial social networking, and valued direct relationships and face to face communication. It’s important to remember that social networking doesn’t stop at the networks alone, or the tools we use. We all network one way or another.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Essay 4 Blogging
In Today’s world, through the technological advancement of the Internet, we have the capability to access information like we never have before. Today, people always have a source for information right at their fingertips, whether it be through a computer, television, or a phone. And although the cheap, efficient, reliable source of printed newspaper will never be obsolete, its prominence and necessity within society and culture has subsided greatly. This is due to the institution of online news media and blogging into our lives, and our new found enjoyment of having an individual say in things. Today, people don’t have to trust in published journalists alone, and can receive their information from sources which we each find the most credible for us. Issues of amateurism and professionalism aside, blogging offers to all of us a voice, and possible influence, in any and all matters of discussion. Blogging then, is in essence a democratic process, and has a place in our nation, despite the many problems bloggers find themselves faced with. As Aaron Barlow (2008) explains in his book ‘Blogging America’, “ The ‘democratization’ of discussion broadens debate far beyond what can be found in traditional news media, where the only venue for most peoples expression is a letter-to-the-editor ghetto”(Pg. 4)
To represent this theory that blogging is bringing the discussion back to the popular control, you can look at a site like Profootballtalk.com . Profootballtalk is a news and rumor site focused on the National Football League. The site has only one creator and editor, Mike Florio, a lawyer and former employee of ESPN.com. Florio claims to “Hate all NFL teams equally”, which in return, gives to us his unbiased, relentless coverage of all teams and players, with no exceptions. Florio, as he’s known on the site, has no affiliation with the NFL. Through a network of league sources he covers all news on any NFL affiliates, from players and coaches to cheerleaders and front office officials. The sight is reportedly read by many NFL insiders and also acts as a watchdog for the league, reporting on inaccurate or biased stories from other media outlets. The sites feature ‘turd watch’, is a yearlong open NFL crime tally and competition, ranking teams based on the criminal activities of their members. The site also holds weekly live blogs for NFL games, provides a section for funny photo-shopped images, as well as providing a link to individual team news. Profootballtalk is highly active in users, and also well respected by other prominent sports columnists, most notably Peter King of SportsIllustrated.com.
Profootballtalk, underneath every broken story, offers an open blog for all net users and football fans to comment, a feature that is not offered by the hierarchal NFL.com or ESPN.com. These strings of conversation often spark commentary, arguments, and sometimes further elaboration or coverage from fans. The site is saturated with regulars who take it seriously and insist on commenting on every article covered by Florio. It’s also filled with diehard fans who strictly go to their teams news and information and comment strictly on their teams related stories.
Besides Profootball talk being fast to deliver information before other sources, it has also been known to cover on controversial issues first, while the NFL sanctioned news outlets are hesitant to. For instance, a New England Patriot cheerleader was kicked off the squad due to degrading pictures posted on her face-book page. This story was up and commented on before NFL.com and the Patriot official team site, while ESPN.com didn’t report it at all.
Profootballtalk is just as careful of protecting the NFL’s good name as the League itself, but does so in a more open and democratic venue. Rather than protecting it by withholding stories that would decrease the leagues face, Mike Florio and the users try to improve upon the league by providing feedback for and from fans on all issues surrounding it. The truth is, there are more way important matters in this world than football players and Sunday games, that blogging now allows us take part in. Politics and economics are just some topics that now, through getting the voice of the people into the discussion, we have broadened the terms and ideas of democracy. But outside of our everyday struggle as low, middle, and mid upper class citizens to fight the established order of things, we also have a right to get the most out of the things we derive pleasure from. Football is entertainment, and through Profootballtalk.com, we as fans are offered yet another time consuming way to entertain ourselves with that forum. Because Sunday and video games just wasn’t enough.
To represent this theory that blogging is bringing the discussion back to the popular control, you can look at a site like Profootballtalk.com . Profootballtalk is a news and rumor site focused on the National Football League. The site has only one creator and editor, Mike Florio, a lawyer and former employee of ESPN.com. Florio claims to “Hate all NFL teams equally”, which in return, gives to us his unbiased, relentless coverage of all teams and players, with no exceptions. Florio, as he’s known on the site, has no affiliation with the NFL. Through a network of league sources he covers all news on any NFL affiliates, from players and coaches to cheerleaders and front office officials. The sight is reportedly read by many NFL insiders and also acts as a watchdog for the league, reporting on inaccurate or biased stories from other media outlets. The sites feature ‘turd watch’, is a yearlong open NFL crime tally and competition, ranking teams based on the criminal activities of their members. The site also holds weekly live blogs for NFL games, provides a section for funny photo-shopped images, as well as providing a link to individual team news. Profootballtalk is highly active in users, and also well respected by other prominent sports columnists, most notably Peter King of SportsIllustrated.com.
Profootballtalk, underneath every broken story, offers an open blog for all net users and football fans to comment, a feature that is not offered by the hierarchal NFL.com or ESPN.com. These strings of conversation often spark commentary, arguments, and sometimes further elaboration or coverage from fans. The site is saturated with regulars who take it seriously and insist on commenting on every article covered by Florio. It’s also filled with diehard fans who strictly go to their teams news and information and comment strictly on their teams related stories.
Besides Profootball talk being fast to deliver information before other sources, it has also been known to cover on controversial issues first, while the NFL sanctioned news outlets are hesitant to. For instance, a New England Patriot cheerleader was kicked off the squad due to degrading pictures posted on her face-book page. This story was up and commented on before NFL.com and the Patriot official team site, while ESPN.com didn’t report it at all.
Profootballtalk is just as careful of protecting the NFL’s good name as the League itself, but does so in a more open and democratic venue. Rather than protecting it by withholding stories that would decrease the leagues face, Mike Florio and the users try to improve upon the league by providing feedback for and from fans on all issues surrounding it. The truth is, there are more way important matters in this world than football players and Sunday games, that blogging now allows us take part in. Politics and economics are just some topics that now, through getting the voice of the people into the discussion, we have broadened the terms and ideas of democracy. But outside of our everyday struggle as low, middle, and mid upper class citizens to fight the established order of things, we also have a right to get the most out of the things we derive pleasure from. Football is entertainment, and through Profootballtalk.com, we as fans are offered yet another time consuming way to entertain ourselves with that forum. Because Sunday and video games just wasn’t enough.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Blogging Journal Day 4
I gave it till late into the night to view Profootballtalk.com, when I knew there would be anymore postings for the day. The next day when the first article goes up, you can’t view the articles from the previous day in a long string of postings, and there is no archive section that organizes according to date. In all there over 40 news articles were put up on Game day, some just being injury reports with no comments and some game overviews with tons of them.
I looked at the posts for the ‘Chiefs go for win, but fall short’ article. I assumed it would be a divided opinion because the game went down to the controversial call to go for two points and the win at the end of the game. It was, half in support of the coach and half ridiculing the decision. I posted on this article. ‘PhininCanada’ asked how Herm Edwards has a 2nd head coaching job. I told him it’s because he kept putting the Jets in the playoffs, and that he should stick to the Canadian Football League. Why not?
Another article today the sounded off controversy was one dealing with the issues of the struggling Cleveland Browns. Things got argumentative between apparently big browns fans, when ‘clevefan1’ and ‘bleedbrown’ posted long carefully constructed blogs with different viewpoints for fault. It’s apparent that on this site, it’s common for a particular fan of a team to be the driving force of one article, and not comment on any other. On the other hand, I frequently see names like ‘shadylampz’ and ‘joesixpack’ getting their two cents in on everything.
I looked at the posts for the ‘Chiefs go for win, but fall short’ article. I assumed it would be a divided opinion because the game went down to the controversial call to go for two points and the win at the end of the game. It was, half in support of the coach and half ridiculing the decision. I posted on this article. ‘PhininCanada’ asked how Herm Edwards has a 2nd head coaching job. I told him it’s because he kept putting the Jets in the playoffs, and that he should stick to the Canadian Football League. Why not?
Another article today the sounded off controversy was one dealing with the issues of the struggling Cleveland Browns. Things got argumentative between apparently big browns fans, when ‘clevefan1’ and ‘bleedbrown’ posted long carefully constructed blogs with different viewpoints for fault. It’s apparent that on this site, it’s common for a particular fan of a team to be the driving force of one article, and not comment on any other. On the other hand, I frequently see names like ‘shadylampz’ and ‘joesixpack’ getting their two cents in on everything.
Nov. 10th Response Blogging America Ch.5
Barlow’s chapter 5 of Blogging America dealt mainly with what blogs have done, or how they relate to popular culture. In this chapter, Barlow cites and quotes many Authors, books and films from the mid to late 20th century. Some of these pop culture references include The Man Who Japed, Forbidden Planet, Small is beautiful, The Man in the High Castle, and 1984. Although this increasing use of citations made it more difficult than often to chose what citations and quotes to use from the chapter for the blog, it helped to give great insight on how technology was perceived in the pop culture world.
While the Machine age during the two world wars captured the imagination of Americans, the referenced books and films had foreseen the wonders, and possible ramifications of technological advancement, by portraying it through Utopian societies. The later pages of this chapter deal with blogging in the new age of popular culture directly, and how bloggers or fan input can now have influence in media. Barlow references the atrocious movie ‘Snakes on a Plane’, and how bloggers had direct influence in the movie retaining that title after a considered change, in order to get his point across.
Another main theme of Barlow’s chapter 5 is his discussion of consumer control in a world of increasing mass or popular culture. Through quoting Dwight Macdonald, Herbert Gans, George Orwell, and their views on consumption, Barlow supports his underlying claim that it was inevitable for consumers to eventually take an increased, more active role in the consumption of products. Other touched upon themes include issues between amateur and ‘Professional’ bloggers, issues the older generation have with media change, and problems of authenticity due to fan based information playing a big role on the web, for instance Wikipedia.
To me, this chapter made the coarse material from beginning to end come full circle, and made me ask myself if the communication on the internet increased or lessened our freedom, individuality, and sense of community. Barlow references the movie V for vendetta, in relation to blogs giving people control over the centralized communication system rather than the rulers. But I would argue, that it was only by letting the volume of popular opinion increase that the real rulers were able to monitor everything, as discussed in Michael Zimmer’s reading on Issues of Privacy and the concept of Search 2.0. Barlow quotes blogger ‘Nicole’ on the blog With Hands Held High, in relation to 1984 and contemporary society, “If the government can legally listen to your phone conversations, search your things without warrant... what does that say about this so-called democracy? How is that any better than Orwell’s depiction of a similar society?”(Pg. 117) Did we trade our freedom of privacy for freedom of speech? And if so, are we okay with it because we can speak about it? We shouldn’t be.
While the Machine age during the two world wars captured the imagination of Americans, the referenced books and films had foreseen the wonders, and possible ramifications of technological advancement, by portraying it through Utopian societies. The later pages of this chapter deal with blogging in the new age of popular culture directly, and how bloggers or fan input can now have influence in media. Barlow references the atrocious movie ‘Snakes on a Plane’, and how bloggers had direct influence in the movie retaining that title after a considered change, in order to get his point across.
Another main theme of Barlow’s chapter 5 is his discussion of consumer control in a world of increasing mass or popular culture. Through quoting Dwight Macdonald, Herbert Gans, George Orwell, and their views on consumption, Barlow supports his underlying claim that it was inevitable for consumers to eventually take an increased, more active role in the consumption of products. Other touched upon themes include issues between amateur and ‘Professional’ bloggers, issues the older generation have with media change, and problems of authenticity due to fan based information playing a big role on the web, for instance Wikipedia.
To me, this chapter made the coarse material from beginning to end come full circle, and made me ask myself if the communication on the internet increased or lessened our freedom, individuality, and sense of community. Barlow references the movie V for vendetta, in relation to blogs giving people control over the centralized communication system rather than the rulers. But I would argue, that it was only by letting the volume of popular opinion increase that the real rulers were able to monitor everything, as discussed in Michael Zimmer’s reading on Issues of Privacy and the concept of Search 2.0. Barlow quotes blogger ‘Nicole’ on the blog With Hands Held High, in relation to 1984 and contemporary society, “If the government can legally listen to your phone conversations, search your things without warrant... what does that say about this so-called democracy? How is that any better than Orwell’s depiction of a similar society?”(Pg. 117) Did we trade our freedom of privacy for freedom of speech? And if so, are we okay with it because we can speak about it? We shouldn’t be.
Blogging Journal Day 3
I gave the site a rest for a few days towards the end of the week, figuring that Saturday through Monday would have more to observe with generally more NFL news, and because Profootballtalk.com usually conducts a live blog for a Sunday game. On the site today, I see nothing that’s promoting a live blog for a week 10 game, and the last week to have a live blog was week 8. It’s disappointing because looking at the live blogs from previous weeks, they appear to be more personally disclosing between bloggers and tend to skew off topic, much more like a chat group from the Arpanet. Florio has close interaction with his users during the live blog, often taking and giving criticism. If there is a live blog for the Sunday night game or the Monday night game, I’ll observe and write about it the following entry.
One big flaw of this website I find, is its appearance and lack of easy accessibility to articles. The homepage of the sight displays the latest 5 post by Florio. However on Saturday, Sunday and the early days of the week, he posts 15 to 30 short articles a day. And when you go to the ‘Rumor Mill’ to search the latest stories, there all on one long string, making it difficult to sift through. I’m assuming the lack of dress up in the site (No pictures of players, or NFL gear), is due to Florio not being sanctioned with the NFL union, a probable reason for the sights onus on player behavior watch as well. Comments on game results in the upcoming days should be interesting, and perhaps ill contribute.
One big flaw of this website I find, is its appearance and lack of easy accessibility to articles. The homepage of the sight displays the latest 5 post by Florio. However on Saturday, Sunday and the early days of the week, he posts 15 to 30 short articles a day. And when you go to the ‘Rumor Mill’ to search the latest stories, there all on one long string, making it difficult to sift through. I’m assuming the lack of dress up in the site (No pictures of players, or NFL gear), is due to Florio not being sanctioned with the NFL union, a probable reason for the sights onus on player behavior watch as well. Comments on game results in the upcoming days should be interesting, and perhaps ill contribute.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Blogging Journal Day 2
Upon the 2nd day of observing this Profootball.com, I can for sure say they are a great source for getting information on not just NFL headlines, but stories which you won’t find at ESPN.com or NFL.com. For instance, they reported on the release of a New England Patriot cheerleader because of degrading pictures on her Facebook page(which reminded me of our reading on privacy issues in Search 2.0)I didn’t find that article on the other two sights mentioned.
One of my first impressions of the sights was that of a soft commentary without much retort from blogger to blogger. As it turns out, things can get a little aggressive sometimes. People using phrases like “Do your homework” and “I want to correct a few people”. I decided to ‘Go Rogue’ myself, and speak out in criticism over one guy’s blog on a September 4th NFL Headline Fins Fire Hagan. I commented back to a blog left by Aka ‘Sprovo’, saying, “You out of your mind” in my disagreement with him. He responded boldly, defending his ideas in a pretty long, thought out blog which took at least 15 minutes to write.
There’s a good amount of advertising on this site, mainly ‘Sprint’, ‘NFL SHOP’, but for every article posted, there’s a box right underneath the story bought out by some company, from M&M’s to acne cream. It’s not the prettiest sight, but it’s highly reliable for the most part, except for an occasional screw up. Florio sometimes jumps the gun on breaking stories like the releasing of some players, and he outwardly guaranteed a Patriots victory over the Giants. MWAAHAHAHA!
One of my first impressions of the sights was that of a soft commentary without much retort from blogger to blogger. As it turns out, things can get a little aggressive sometimes. People using phrases like “Do your homework” and “I want to correct a few people”. I decided to ‘Go Rogue’ myself, and speak out in criticism over one guy’s blog on a September 4th NFL Headline Fins Fire Hagan. I commented back to a blog left by Aka ‘Sprovo’, saying, “You out of your mind” in my disagreement with him. He responded boldly, defending his ideas in a pretty long, thought out blog which took at least 15 minutes to write.
There’s a good amount of advertising on this site, mainly ‘Sprint’, ‘NFL SHOP’, but for every article posted, there’s a box right underneath the story bought out by some company, from M&M’s to acne cream. It’s not the prettiest sight, but it’s highly reliable for the most part, except for an occasional screw up. Florio sometimes jumps the gun on breaking stories like the releasing of some players, and he outwardly guaranteed a Patriots victory over the Giants. MWAAHAHAHA!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Blogging Journal Day 1
For my fourth essay on blogging, I will observe a blogging site called Profootballtalk.com . I wanted to observe a sight would increasingly pickup momentum in the volume of blogs throughout the week. I surely figure that viewing blogs from Thursday through Saturday would depict growing conflicts in arguments between rival fans, right up till Sunday. Monday, depending on game outcomes, would show changes of opinion and attitudes by some. Being well informed and interested in football news would also give me opportunities to write better blogs.
I chose profootballtalk.com for a few reasons. One, it has been around for 5 years now, and is notably rising in popularity, accredited my many prominent sports columnists from Sports Illustrated.com and ESPN.com. The second reason to use this particular sight is that it is not affiliated with the National Football League itself. The sites creator, main editor and contributor is Mike Florio, a lawyer and former employee of ESPN.com, who claims to hate all NFL teams equally. The sight acts as a watchdog for the NFL, keeping an eye out and reporting on players or incorrect, biased stories written by journalists and media outlets. There’s even a section on the site called ‘turd watch’, which tracks any and all arrests or misconduct from any employees of the NFL whether it be players, coaches, or front office employees. Florio often plugs the site on Radio and Sports television shows, conducts live blogs for games on Sunday, and often gets contributions to the site from former NFL affiliates.
The sight is updated with news stories often, everyday, at least during the season. And all reported stories quickly are commented on by multiple users. The one problem I have with the sight is the comments of the users themselves. Often short reaction blogs from relatively uneducated writers giving their simple non-argumentative opinion on whatever Mike Florio posts. So it appears I will have to be the Pariah of the site, and start some of the controversy myself. I will post a blog on an upcoming story and will write it such that it is sure to stick in at least one user’s craw, and they will hopefully lash back. Go Jets/Giants!
I chose profootballtalk.com for a few reasons. One, it has been around for 5 years now, and is notably rising in popularity, accredited my many prominent sports columnists from Sports Illustrated.com and ESPN.com. The second reason to use this particular sight is that it is not affiliated with the National Football League itself. The sites creator, main editor and contributor is Mike Florio, a lawyer and former employee of ESPN.com, who claims to hate all NFL teams equally. The sight acts as a watchdog for the NFL, keeping an eye out and reporting on players or incorrect, biased stories written by journalists and media outlets. There’s even a section on the site called ‘turd watch’, which tracks any and all arrests or misconduct from any employees of the NFL whether it be players, coaches, or front office employees. Florio often plugs the site on Radio and Sports television shows, conducts live blogs for games on Sunday, and often gets contributions to the site from former NFL affiliates.
The sight is updated with news stories often, everyday, at least during the season. And all reported stories quickly are commented on by multiple users. The one problem I have with the sight is the comments of the users themselves. Often short reaction blogs from relatively uneducated writers giving their simple non-argumentative opinion on whatever Mike Florio posts. So it appears I will have to be the Pariah of the site, and start some of the controversy myself. I will post a blog on an upcoming story and will write it such that it is sure to stick in at least one user’s craw, and they will hopefully lash back. Go Jets/Giants!
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