to find the good... and avoid the bad

Just because the internet can offer some terrible experiences, as noted in my previous post, there are ways to combat it. Numerous articles discuss how to avoid cyberbullying. Teens are encouraged to remember that millions can view their online information and that they can avoid contact with those who initiate bullying. It is still the same as real-world bullying: Do not let them find more ways to harm you.

Additionally, we are encouraged to be free online, using the idea of open sourcing, but we must be careful how much of ourselves we have available to unknown sources. Basically, be smart about your identity... online and off. do not trust someone simply because they follow you, but use your common sense.

Despite this grim warning and outlook, the internet is fun and exciting, allowing for all kinds of interactions
and learning. People enjoy connecting online, and as Drew Barrymore said in the film, "He's Just Not That into You,"

I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home. And then he e-mailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell. Then he e-mailed me to my home account and the whole thing just got out of control. . . . And now you have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting.

We've found a new way to connect through our technology, and although we ought to embrace it, we also must be careful as we march forward each iteration...

negatives of social media

Although I like to focus on the positive side of things, this blog is still about the opposing views of digital culture. there is not simply the white fluffy goodness on the internet, but a dark underbelly that we sometimes try to hide. Now, these things occur outside of the internet as well, but our culture of openness and sharing has led to some dangerous scenarios brought about by social media.

There are simple difficulties associated with social media, such as decreased face-to-face communication and     the disconnect of truth and reality from a person's persona, or "profile." Other difficulties arise in the workplace and among students. Social media is easy to access and can be "addictive," especially when you are looking for an excuse not to work. Just look at sites such as I Waste So Much Time or FAIL Blog to see how we will willing *waste* our time.



You get the idea...

There are also the more serious issues: because people can hide behind a computer screen, there are sexual predators who are able to disguise their real identities and harm unsuspecting victims. You'll notice the above picture(courtesy of iwastesomuchtime.com). It's funny, right? or not? It's a real problem that I'm sure we're all aware of, but because of the open nature of the internet, there is not a great deal that we can do to protect against this behavior except warn people of its existence.

There is also cyberbullying to deal with. Again, it happens in our physical world, but the annonymity of the internet allows for a whole new avenue. There are extreme cases such as the Amanda Todd story (her YouTube video to follow) and small cases, but it's all negative. In fact, she is still bullied as people comment on her video...

Don't forget... There are positives, and plenty, of social media, but we must be careful and aware. Perhaps my next post will be on how to combat these negative aspects of social media...

story

As you may guess from my major, as well as my group project (CCC), I love stories. I find that a story brings meaning to many situations. For example, when you find out that someone is engaged, or you even simply see their ring, do you accept that and move on without questions? no! You have to know how the guy proposed and how they met; you find out how long they have dated and their life stories. You have an innate desire to know the story behind the ring and how it got on that finger... at least, girls do.

Now, the thing it self is still very important - do we ever really consider a couple engaged if there is no ring? -  but without the story, it is rather meaningless. I'm sure you have all experienced this with a plethora of things, but with three cousins engaged, this is the one foremost in my mind. So, I ask myself, why is the story so important? Why would a story give credence to an item that has its own meaning? Because we live stories. Our lives are not stagnant, they are not proprietary. We are constantly moving through stories of our own, and the stories allow us to relate to any given thing.

How does this relate to digital culture? How do you think? Digital culture is all about the evolution of the human psyche in regards to technology. It is not about how the internet works now, but how we are changing it and how it changes us. Why did you join facebook? Was it so you could have another online presence, or was it so that you may see what others are doing and understand their life story (even if only in part)? We don't care about what the internet does, per se, but we care about how it has developed and changed the stories of our own lives.

Another part of this is the new iterations we are creating of our group projects. We are not simply creating something to create, but to experiment and experience. There is a story behind our endeavors, and it needs to be told. This is now people can find credence is what we are doing. The story gives the thing it's meaning. 

"Why would a story give credence to an item that has its own meaning?"

We live stories. Although our projects will have meaning of their own, they may not be interesting for a wide range of people. The story of how we made them, however, has an everlasting effect. People can gain inspiration from our ideas and discover how to create the items themselves. "Story" is everywhere. We must simply find it.

Enabling

Although I do not think that digital communication is any substitute for face to face contact, it has helped many to create connections they never could otherwise. Because of my experience with games, digital communication was easy for me to embrace. You have time to collect your thoughts and there is no pressure, so it's typically easier to use for many people.

One of my best friends from a few years ago is VERY into online communication. she is part of multiple forums, and is a moderator for one or two as well because of her experience and expertise. She played a great deal of Final Fantasy for years, and digital communication is easier for her than the conventional conversation. Most of her friends now are from those forums or facebook, so the online community has been an important part of her life. She would never have made these connections without our digital culture.

Another friend of mine has had depression issues in the past and had extreme difficulty making friends when she was younger. She got through it because of video games and online friends. What does this tell me? Although a great deal of research has promoted face-to-face and degraded e-communication, such as this article, these experiences show that e-communication allow for connections and friendships that pure face-to-face contact cannot. this is also a big argument for my non-fiction book, Personal Connections in the Digital Age by Nancy Baym.

paradigm shift/midterm

I'm excited for this post, as I felt that it's about time to go over the paradigm shift I've experienced through this class, and it just happened to coincide with the requirements for the midterm. I was thinking that I'd discuss these things last week before the announcement, and that just makes this post that much more worth it.

The nonfiction book I was working on is periodically available on google books in nearly its entirety, but whenever I had time to work on reading, it wouldn't work or it would stop once I made it 20 or so pages (I'm not sure why it kept changing). I also placed a hold on it at our library, but it continually did not arrive. Amazingly, it came in yesterday. I have been able to do some of the reading I wasn't able to previously, but it's mostly more of what I was able to preview.

The book strongly supports the idea that things have not really changed, but that we are simply interacting and communicating in different ways. This is actually a new idea to me this semester. Nancy Baym, author of Personal Connections in the Digital Age, said on page 46, "As technologies are integrated into everyday life, they come to be seen as offering a nuanced mix of both positive and negative implications." There are still negative effects, but it's the same negative effects we've faced with every advance in communication technology. In fact, Nancy Baym mentioned that the telephone faced the same adverse reaction when it was a new device.

My fiction book, Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen, is not much like our digital age, but there was a fundamental similarity that I saw which made me want to read it as a reference for digital culture: the ideas associated with fiction in the book and the internet now. Catherine is looked down on for her love of novels, and people continually argue how it can harm her and give her false ideas; today, the internet and digital culture is often warned against because it can absorb individuals and distance them from "real life." However, we have come to accept novels as wonderful things, especially in the English major, so I've come to see that our digital culture isn't such a negative thing, but an escape that we have yet to fully understand.

As far as my own self-directed learning, I've never been the kind to seek out my own research and find ways to interact online, but I've had to change that for this class. I have worried about spending so much time online and creating a greater online presence, but it's been good and exciting. I've had to force myself to interact using different mediums, but as I've worked on it, it's become easier and more enjoyable. I joined sites that I never even considered before - twitter, google+, and pinterest, for example - as well as those I'd not known of - such as diigo and the Google Chrome log in.

Besides reaching out online, I've also embraced more of the self-directed research and learning than I thought I would. I want to do research in order to create will-developed and thought-out blog posts. The research I've found has been exciting and I've enjoyed discussing it. I do see areas in which I can improve, such finding more research and reaching out more to those with experience in the areas I've discussing, but I have definitely made progress.

Other students have taught me a great deal about doing research and embracing digital culture. Seeing the work that Casey and Tasha have done, for instance, have been active presences on line that I've enjoyed hearing from. Seeing the work from other students on the Google+ steam has helped me to see what more I can be doing.

collaboration

As a part of the Collaboration group, I've begun some research on previous work. Although it seems like a new concept, at least to me, it seems that there are multiple sites which facilitate collaborative writing. Some are an online for of a writing group, so authors can submit work and hear suggestions from others. These include webook.com and protagonize.com - both sites allow for professional help with drafts and publication advice.

We have taken a slightly more drastic approach in that we are not only sharing our own work, but also working off of one another. Our book will have no one author, but in the spirit of digital culture, we will all work together to create this work of fiction. We will attempt to reach out to multiple audiences, and use their interests and expertise to make a book that each group can enjoy, be they fans of fiction, romance, sci-fi, or crime-action.

Some sites have incorporated this philosophy: storymash.com is a legitimate site which facilitates the same kind of thing we are endeavoring for. The site says: "Authors and writers hone your creative writing skills. Collaborate on new fiction stories, or branch an existing fiction story in a different direction by writing the next chapter or even a chapter into its middle! Authors, earn money for every chapter you write and self-publish on StoryMash. StoryMash rewards your creative writing talents by sharing at least 50% of the advertisement revenue." - this site has created a lucrative way for collaboration to work.

Wikipedia has a page on collaborative fiction which discusses what it is and how it often works. It also talks about the legal disadvantages and shortcomings of collaborative fiction. For example, when one author wants to continue the story or when one does not want to, the rest of the group is at a disadvantage. The page also references past books/projects done as a collaborative work.

The Wikipedia article mentions that collaborative writing may speed up the process of writing the book, and that there are many ways to approach a collaborative novel; however, there are many difficulties that can arise. If one writer has a different writing style than the others, it can change the entire feel of the book and sometimes authors will block the ideas of others and make group work nearly impossible. It seems to me that the key is to flexible and open. There also needs to be a group commitment to the work so that all are allowed to move forward. I hope our work is a success, but in case it isn't, we are documenting it all along the way at http://collaborationfornovels.blogspot.com/ so our mistakes can be recorded...Yes, so that our mistakes can be recorded as well as our successes.

It's going to be a fun ride!

video games and positive research

Video games can do more than bring people together. It can help to heal them from their ills. The Los Angelos Times said, "A game was recently tried by pediatric cancer patients at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City. The game is designed to improve resilience, empowerment by using visualization. Visualization has been shown to be helpful for competitive athletes' neurological recovery after injury, among other situations, the authors wrote." It's more than just a chance to have fun, but a chance to enjoy healing.

The same article discussed the health benefits from video games: "In an article that perhaps doesn’t surprise gamers, researchers say that games like Dance Dance Revolution can help fightobesity. And games like Packy & Marlon, designed to teach children and adolescents about a condition such as diabetes, can make users feel empowered to cope and even get better." I was once able to convince my family into getting a Wii console because of the wiifit games and because it uses more of they body than just your hands.

Video games have also been used to help in classrooms: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/video-games-in-english-classroom-terrell-heick. It allows for learning in a way previously impossible. Interactive learning with a medium that children, and adults, consider inviting and entertaining, would open up a new gateway to education for those who find traditional learning difficult and lengthy.
These are all wonderful ways that video games have been proven to help us. They are still a danger, as sites such as WebMD discusses, video game addiction is real and even requires measures as extreme as detox and rehabilitation. I remember hearing about missionaries in the MTC who were going through withdrawal from technology upon entering the MTC. I do not mean to say that video games and technology are a bad thing, we must simply be careful. Video games for relaxation or enjoyment is a wonderful tool until it goes too far. As long as it does not overtake other part of our lives, it can be a fantastic experience.

Video games... rethought

I've been posting about collaborative writing lately, and that has been a wonderful adventure, but today I'd like to return to the topic of video games and thus continue my threat there. So far, I've talked about the harms and "addictions" from video games, mostly from my own perspective. Today, I'd like to focus on the positives.

As I believe I've already mentioned, one of the reasons I got into video games in the first place was because of my brothers. These geniuses - yes, I think of them as such - played plenty of games when I was a young girl, and I'd love to watch them because the games were so fascinating. One of them, I believe it was the second oldest, but it may have been the oldest, condescended to teach me how to play WarCraft. I couldn't believe it! My brother was teaching me how to play his games. From then on, I was hooked. What was to coolest thing about it was that I could play games with my brothers, either on their teams or against them. Mostly, my brothers had mercy on me and allowed me to tag along on the same team. That meant that my teenage brothers were selflessly giving their little sis. a break and playing something she wanted. What a teaching experience for all parties!

When these brothers moved out, I continued to play - alone or with friends - but it kept a kind of connection between us. When they came home to visit, we'd play xbox or N64 and the whole family would get involved - this was usually Tetris or Fusion Frenzy. I'd also play plenty of N64 games with cousins whenever we had a chance to get together. Later, my oldest brother tweaked my xbox for me, yet again a selfless act which made me respect and love him so much more. these games brought us all together and gave us reasons to just play.

After two brothers were married and had moved away, I rarely saw any of them. My youngest brother, still much older than myself, had a friend with the newest Zelda game: Twilight Princess. Knowing that I loved Zelda - he was the one who bought Ocarina of time with me - he invited me over to play it. What a lucky younger sister I was..

More recently, video games have brought me closer to friends and to my younger relations - A.K.A. nephews and nieces. When they visit, we always play the wii together and the kids all know they can count on me to have and play their favorite games. On the wii - and I believe most other up to date consoles - you can play with someone across the country as long as your consoles are connected via the internet. My nephews and nieces will play together in Boston and San Francisco. Who would have ever dreamed that was possible?

There are more benefits, but for now, these are the social positives I have seen. I will continue soon with research on health and cognitive benefits... You can also view positive aspects on gaming at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B77j0wph5s9pcDFzLUhPbkd4WFU/edit. There will be more information on this project in following posts.

Introducing: CCC!

1. Project Title: Crowdsourcing Collaborative Creativity (CCC)
2. Description: We are attempting to create a novel from the ideas of many, following the ideas of crowdsourcing from our digital age. We will write the entire story together and allow others to determine where the story goes, allowing for totally collaborative text.
3. Project Members: Heather Andersen, Jason Hamilton, Hillary Ulmer, Jake Cannon, Christina Holt, Rebecca Ricks, and Ashley Barnes
4. Social Proof:

• Evidence of informal social proof: We've set up a facebook page, which is open to everyone. We have proof that the idea is appealing to many: Jason Hamilton, I, and Alexandra Crafton have all posted on Google+ about collaborative writing with a great deal of feedback. 
• Evidence of outside social proof: We have contacted professors and writers from the area (one creative writing group and a few BYU professors more particularly). Chris Crowe, a professor at BYU, has expressed interest in our project and is willing to offer further feedback. Kai Fierle-Hedrick is a woman on Google+ who works at Free Arts NYC as an educator. She works to promote collaborative creative practices to help at risk youth, and we plan to refer to her when we have more of our book. Emily Dyer, a creative writing teacher at BYU, is also excited about this project and will watch us on the way.
• Annotated list of potential sources of further social proof: Webook.com is one source where authors can share what they are writing and receive feedback; Our Facebook page, again, will also function as a way for other writers to give input. We hope to work with Amazon.com when the book is close to completion in order to have it published as well. 

5. Literature Review:

• Links to blog posts exploring the topic from group members: Rebecca Ricks, Hillary Ulmer, Jason Hamilton, and I have all posted regarding the topic. 
• At least three books that establish the relevance and importance of the topic:  Marriage of Minds: Collaborative Fiction Writing; "Collaborative storytelling experiences in social media: Influence of peer-assistance mechanisms," an article by Liu, Chen-Chung et al (Discusses how much easier collaborative creative fiction is if you use hypermedia instead of a linear form); more to come...

6. Literary Component: 

• Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey (me): This book would provide a groundwork were we to use the Austen video game story, but more importantly, it relates to identities and how media changes perceptions 
• The Future of Us (Hillary): This was written as a collaborative work by two authors, and while ours will be done in a different format, we are drawing on this tradition of collaborative creative writing. 

7. Format(s) and Audience(s): We plan to publish our completed project on Amazon.com, making it available to anyone who is interested. We may charge up to $0.99 to purchase it, but large peices will be available for free via our facebook page and (upcoming) site.
8. Success Criteria: Our main goal is to successfully complete and publish a book which we have all contributed to; however, we hope to have at least one sale on Amazon from someone who has no relation to the members of our group.
9. Prototype: We have had multiple postings on Google+ regarding our topic as well as class discussions - mostly after class - but also created a google doc for us all to pool our ideas. We have also worked on idea via our blogs, mentioned earlier. multiple members have submitted plot outlines which we have all worked together to begin to fit into our ideal: Superheroes, Virtual Austen are the google doc versions, while the blog post versions have been preciously cited. Our prototype is outlined in this google doc, which is public, although we have another one which is specifically for us.