Burkitt

 This chapter was very interesting to me. I found it very crazy thinking about how in the chapter it said "It is possible to sustain a close relationship with a family member or friend who lives half way around the world, and at the same time not know your next door neighbor." This statement is so true in today's society. With Facebook, email, text messaging, Twitter, and various other ways of communication visual and text, it is easy to have a relationship with someone in Europe if your living in the U.S. I also found it amazing the story of the man that went to pay his respects for Princess Diana. For him to admit that the death of Princess Diana was far more significant than his own mothers death. The matter of media saturation is definitely explained by this example. I can understand how this is true because of how many people obsess over public figure's Twitter posts and other followed activity by these figures. 

           I really vibe with the part about how we have kind of drifted away from the "late or high modernity" that we used to hold back in the day. Specifically with relationships, I can see how it says that now days couples stay together based on what they are getting out of the relationship weather it is emotional satisfaction or some sort of benefit otherwise. Relationships are no longer held together by the coming of children or because couples are married. Tradition is starting to change and if it isn't changing then it is becoming more and more irrelevant. This was really an interesting chapter that hit on many thought provoking points.

Virtual Death and Real Dilemma

           This article was very interesting indeed. I enjoyed it because it tricked me and i was truly shocked. The article is about how the internet gives people the power to lure people into giving there heartfelt feelings to support some sort of cause they believe in. The story about Kaycee Nicole Swenson really shocked me because there was so many people supporting her with the whole Leukemia bit. This just shows how you may have to do your research on things like this, or even other internet scams that may be out there. Although this was just a study im sure there are scams out there that use the same tactics in that they may be trying to get people to send their money thinking it is for a good cause and in the end get screwed.
           There is a part in the article that says "the internet has been characterized as a "identity laboratory". This just shows that people can easily use false identities on the internet to do different things. This factor about the internet is used in good ways and bad ways. Pedophiles easily use fake Facebook pages and request little girls and boys or vulnerable targets. The internet is starting to become somewhat of a safer place but still isn't the safest place to have a social life on, let alone making purchases online. Whenever I am using the internet I make sure that I know what I am on or what I am dealing with on the Web. Overall I really enjoyed this article.

End of Books

This article was another very interesting article. It really spoke upon the way we read upon our media developed throughout our history. It talked about writing all the way to current day internet or hypertext. Hypertext is like a page of links and articles that are about the same topic. The present day internet is very similar to Hypertext. I like how in the article it talked a little about multivocalism being popular on hypertext. It went through multiple types of things that are posted on hypertext also. The thought of hypertext being talked about so long ago really amazes me because its so ahead of its time. I think that books are dying out in todays society but i do know that a large part of the population still reads books. I know that I have read on one of those E-books on Kindle but i feel like books are more in the interests of older generations. This article was somewhat confusing on the points it was making but for the most part i pretty much understand it.

Media Exploration Project

The topic i chose for my Media Exploration research paper is going to be on Children and Media. I want to know a little more about what can come of the future generations when media and online technologies are becoming so reliant in today's society. I also want to know a little about what drives most children towards these medias. Especially online medias because it seems like children getting lower and lower in age are starting to get Facebook pages and twitter pages and what not. I just think that this topic would be interesting to know for myself let alone just researching it for my paper.

Technomedia

        This article about Technomedia was very different. Before i had started reading this article i had no clue what "Technomedia" was. They defined it for me as being how smooth communication through means of the internet on different technological devices. From what i read in this article that is what i had gotten to be the definition of Technomedia. The article talked a lil about how much technology means to us in todays society. We really rely on technology in today's world. From Medical Machines, to Functional technologies that regulate certain businesses and utilities that are necessary for living in this world.
        The article also talked about Television. Television has become one of the most common technologies that people possess. People can easily have access to a television just like that. I like the quote in there that McLuhan had stated "media were the "'Extensions of man"'. That was very interesting to me because it is very true. Media is another way for people to communicate and do virtually anything else humans were made to do. This article was very interesting to me and i enjoyed reading it.

Personal Dynamic Media

This article really jumped out to me at the beginning. I like how it told about Kay and Goldberg's story of the Dynabook. I just find it crazy to think that somebody could hit dead on the head with this idea that came almost 30 years later. These genius' were obviously way ahead of their time! The fact that Kay and Goldberg kind of predicted that the computer would even be used by children someday is fascinating also. Most would've thought then that the idea of this "Dynabook" would definitely be too much for children to be using. Now days everybody uses computers. Computers have almost become as common as television, the only thing being they can be very expensive. I also liked how Kay and Goldberg sort of mapped out a lot of other technologies like the Medical records. It talked about how hospitals could keep records on a computer that a doctor could easily access. This is cool because in every business now all records are held on a computer. Unless your an anti- technology type person and like to do things the old fashioned way then you are using some sort of computer technology. This article in all was a very interesting article that taught me a lot. It makes me think, never think the impossible is impossible.

Second Life

This article really poked out to me. I like that it was on the whole Second Life online world. I enjoyed reading about second life in the previous article Just Like ME only better. This article was about how gender roles are on this online cyber world of Second life. I like how it was from a women's perspective. They did a study on these two women that go into the Second Life world with a male avatar. This was because it was figured that the woman would be objectified and attacked sexually. Another thing they talked about in the article was gender stereotypes. It said that most of the men and women that were in the online world were "attractive". Meaning that most of the men were tall and muscular and all the women were sleek slender and had big boobs. I feel like that is how most people who choose to engage in this online world would make their avatar to look "perfect" or what society today would think is perfect. I enjoyed this article because of the way people really create fake people to have two lives. To me it is kind of crazy.

From Computer Power and Human Reason

This article was very interesting. I didn't feel like it was too hard to understand either. There were a lot of things within this article that somewhat amazed me. For instance, the conversation the computer had with the person. It wasn't really a normal conversation either, the computer was acting as a therapist. It was interesting to see that the computer was asking very relevant questions within the interview. Even though the man had to give the computer a script in order for ELIZA to be able to converse, i still find it amazing that it was doing what it did. The biggest part is how long ago this experiment was done. Technology has come so far and is more important then ever now days. I feel that we as humans are becoming more and more dependent upon technology and it might not be a positive. This was another thing that was brought up in the article. Without technology, especially in the medical field, there would be a lot more death and a lot more difficulty preventing it. I still believe that i liked the ELIZA part of this article but it was an overall good article.

The Technology and the Society

This article was very insightful to me. I appreciated a lot of the stuff that Williams was talking about and relating in this article. The article started off talking about a couple of psychological views on technology and society that were very interesting to me. It talked about Technological determinism and symptomatic determinism. These two viewpoints basically were talking about how technology affects society. From what i understood Technological determinism says that technology itself creates different new ways of life. So because of the coming of this new technology society is changed. While symptomatic determinism says that technology is a new tool that helps with this new way of life instead of creating it. It also talked about television. It talked about the history of television and what the invention of television sprouted from. It also talked about the many ways television is used by society. I enjoyed this article although i don't understand little parts of it still, it is very informational.