B.M # 2: A Game You Say? More Like The Life I wished I had!

Gone were the days of PONG and Donkey Kong. Games as such interest us no more. Browse through the games available now and sometimes it’s almost astonishing how life-like games can be these days. Games, be it on a Playstation 3, X-Box Live or PC, have evolved so much that gaming alone has become more than just entertainment. Gamers who are into Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game’s (MMORPG) such as World of Warcraft (WOW) are invited to a whole new world. A whole new social online environment is presented to them where people forge friendships, make money, escape reality and, of course, accomplish missions and increase in ranks. (Levy, 2006)

Games are no longer just for mere entertainment anymore. It has crossed boundaries and brought societal factors into them. Some people may consider Second Life (SL) a game. Personally, Second Life is not a game. It is a virtual reflection of life. REAL LIFE! Linden Lab, creators of Second Life, has made it in a manner where there is no manufactured conflict and no particular set objective. Members of Second Life are basically, introduced to a virtual open-ended experience. (Kalning, 2007)

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world that has been built by members also known as “residents” in it. Imagine locating a new island and moving a 300 strong population to that new island. Give them the resources and materials to start a life there and build everything from scratch. That’s Second Life for you. One of the only differences is that you cannot die. “Residents” in SL can buy and sell stuff, flirt with others, have sex, build buy and sell property, listen and watch virtual concerts, play games, watch movies etc.

Unlike WOW, there are no quests or objectives to fulfill. Players of WOW have missions to complete, level up their characters with experience points like other games. SL, however, has no such clear objectives or missions. Objectives of “residents” are according to what they want to achieve. For example, if you wanted to buy a nice house in SL, you would have to work for your money and buy it. If not build it yourself. Just like in real life.

Users of SL are not only in it for entertainment. SL has its own economy and currency. And like every wolf pack around a limping deer, opportunity awaits. Some SL users turn their virtual money into real money. The “work” element in SL is what makes it unique. Linden Labs has welcomed users with entrepreneurial inclinations to use them in SL. As hard as it is to wrap an idea of such around your head, SL has its own currency called Linden dollars, which can easily be traded for U.S dollars at an official currency site. SL also encourages and supports the imaginative by allowing users to retain copyright for their creations. Meaning, you can create anything you want in SL and with intellectual property laws residing in the virtual world, you can be sure that your product is protected. People have designed clothes, build products, set up retail stores, and dabble with property for Linden dollars. (Tiffany, 2007)

It is without a doubt that SL could be an excellent money making opportunity. Anshe Chung was referred as the “Rockefella” of Second Life. She has single handedly built an online business that deals with property development, brokerage and arbitrage of virtual land making her a millionaire. Her accomplishments have been featured in magazines such as Business Week, Fortune and Red Herring. (Wikipedia Anshe Chung, 2007) How then, can you still evaluate Second Life as just a game when clearly, it aims to be an alternative life for users in both aspects of work and play.

References:

Levy, S. (2007). World of Warcraft: Is It a Game? Retrieved on April 07, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14757769/site/newsweek/page/3/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Kalning, K (2007). If Second Life isn’t a game, what is it? Retrieve on April 07, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17538999/wid/11915829/

Tiffany, L (2007). Starting a Second Life business. Retrieved on April 07, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17280460/

Anshe Chung (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on April 07, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anshe_Chung

QOtW9: Hey! I'm a Journalist too!

The birth of a new era of citizen journalism was clear after the September 11 attack. Vast amounts of emails were circulated at that time regarding the situation telling others of their observations. Some others found it an opportune moment to blog about the incident. It would be a breath of fresh air, being able to attain information from a source other than news channels. Radically different perspectives from the minds of many as compared to a team of reporters in a particular news TV station could sometimes mean a clearer depiction of an actual incident.

Citizen journalism is commonly known as “participatory journalism.” It involves the act of ordinary citizens with no journalistic credentials, to participate in the role of a journalist, collecting, reporting, analyzing, writing and disseminating information. (Wiki, 2006) It is a unique form of media for citizens which allow heavy user generated content.

With the freedom and reduced amount of restrictions in cyberspace, people are liberated to write about current affairs, societal issues, and almost everything under the sun that was once constricted due to the traditional forms of media. Not everyone has the means to having their ideas, opinions, observations and information, broadcasted over a TV network or published in a newspaper. News is what people make of it, especially in more ways than one. For people who want to be informed, the Internet is the answer. Where else can you find information from so many sources? And, there are those who wish so passionately to be part of the whole process, where then, do these aspiring citizen journalists turn to? (Gilmore, 2004)

The Web is merely a start……………………

STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile Print), is an online platform that encourages Singaporeans to connect with the world and embrace citizen journalism. It allows for “uncertified” journalists to contribute. STOMP has a chat room, forum, announcement page for people to navigate around. It has a tabloid style layout equipped with headlines and sub sections to cater to the different taste of the population. E.g “Foodie section”, “IT section” and “Campus Happenings”. (STOMP, 2006)

STOMP has a high level of interactivity. It’s easy to navigate interface and strong participatory level from its audience are the key factors to its popularity. With a strong contribution from citizens whom are non-journalists, it would seem rather strange to find a proper, journalistic format. Instead, audiences can take comfort in the fact that articles or discussions in the forum are written by ordinary citizens who do not have to bear the editor’s last words in mind, and not have deadlines to meet, and also not have to consider the risking the interest of a conglomerate. Somehow, it almost always seems credible if someone were to write something without having external factors that affect the input. Everything, becomes magically, more believable.

That much said, STOMP is a good platform for budding citizen journalists. But, since it’s almost impossible to create something perfect, STOMP may not be the most ideal. The fact that we live in a non utopian world shows that the world is flawed and for almost every instance, there is room for improvement. Like STOMP, there is still a need for moderation. People get to go on rambling on some really insignificant issues. As for some really important issues, it is really difficult to deem it credible if written in a slip shod manner. It also seems almost apparent that the contributions were only made by locals. It would be fascinating if there were global contributions with a more insightful perspective.



References:

“Citizen Journalism” (March 29, 2006) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism

Gillmor, D. “We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People” (July, 2004). Retrieved March 30, 2007 from http://download.nowis.com/index.cfm?phile=WeTheMedia.html&tip

STOMP (2006) From Singapore Press HoldingsRetrieved March 30, 2007 from http://www.stomp.com.sg/

QOTW8: Excuse me, are u a Democrat?

The blog that I have chosen is J B Jeyaretnam’s Blog (http://blog.jbjeya.org/ ). It was managed by both Uncle Yap and J B Jeyaratnam. Jeyaretnam was an ex politician and once held many honorable titles and occupations in Singapore. The first blog entry was in September 21, 2005.

The blog consist mostly of press statements or retorts to press statements that were published in the newspapers. Comments that were made by JBJ are usually of those opposing the current government in Singapore. He has selectively chosen certain press statements and dissected them individually showing his oppression by attacking each loophole in the press releases. The retorts have sometimes not even seemed to appear diplomatic. In any case, it seems almost obvious about his dissatisfaction with the Lee family.

Quote: “THIS IS THE UNIQUELY SINGAPORE DEMOCRACY -A SHAM OF DEMOCRACY” (J B Jeyaretnam)

Apparently, J B Jeyaretnam has repeatedly disrespectfully scrutinized MM Lee’s words. In one instance, he implied that MM Lee said that the younger generation should not be intimidated by him. But, he claims that MM Lee had also once said that he wouldn’t hesitate to use his hatchet on anyone who stands in his way. J B Jeyaretnam’s almost literal depiction of this particular statement has put MM Lee in a bad light. The entries in the blog continue with numerous amounts of retorts to whatever “loopholes” he has discovered in all the various statements made by the government and the Lee family. It is by far evidently clear that he has sheer discontent for the system and its operation. (Jeyaretnam, 2007)

With the introduction of blogs, Netizens are given an alternative outlet to voice out their opinions. The conventional “Speaker’s Corner” option was deemed inefficient and there were many complications before a person could actually hold a speech. Blog’s however, gave people the freedom of voicing their political opinions without much hindrance. (Giam, 2006)

So then, we ask ourselves, to what extent do blogs allow for greater democracy in Singapore? As mentioned, blogs are a convenient avenue for people to voice their opinions. But, the blogs with negative views or responses about the government, would they be held accountable for their opinions? Mrbrown a well known political blogger, was targeted for his controversial letter he wrote to the TODAY newspaper on 30 June. It appears that though his criticisms about the government were made in a relaxed, informal manner, the MICA (Ministry of Information, Communications & the Arts) said that his comments has clearly misrepresented the truth, altering it in a way to make the substantiations for the price increases following the Elections seemingly invalid and uncalled for. MICA claimed that he wouldn’t have received such hostility if he had posted his opinions only in his blog, which they deem have a less and more limited niche audience. But then, who’s to say if he wouldn’t have receive the equal actions taken against him if he were just to publish it in his blog? Also, the numbers for people who read blogs for current events and information, especially from the younger generation, has been ever increasing since the birth of blogs. (Giam, 2006)

Though politicians and Netizens have used blogs to facilitate and propagate their messages, we will never know to what extent of “democracy” is permitted before the government decides to take action against them be it publicly or in a discreet manner.


References:

Giam, G. (2006). Review- The politics of Singapore’s new media in 2006. Retrieved Friday, March 23, 2007 from http://theonlinecitizen.com/2006/12/31/review-the-politics-of-singapores-new-media-in-2006/

Jeyaretnam, J B (2007). Fight on Singaporeans! Down the FamiLee Regime! Retrieved Friday, March 23, 2007 from http://jbjeya.org/blog///index.php?m=200509

QOTW7: What Are You Twittering About Right Now?

Virtual Communities, a term we seem to be having around so often since the information age took the world. What exactly is a virtual community? It is when a group of people interact or communicate over the Internet. It is also an alternative for people who actually know each other in real life to communicate with each other. (Wikipedia Virtual Community, 2007)

Is a virtual community really different from an actual community?

According to Rheingold, he believes that people in virtual communities interact for a myriad of reasons. They can engage in intellectual discussions, have arguments, share knowledge on various subjects, play games, conduct businesses, have idle chat, flirt etc. But, the only aspect that lacks from virtual communities is the absence of the physical characteristic in the interaction. (Fernback & Thompson, 1995)
There are limitations to a real life community that a virtual one can surpass. Although lacking the physical characteristic, the structure of virtual communities allows for communication over vast distances. It also allows for people from different times zones to interact in a asynchronous nature.(Wellman & Gulia, 1996) Though, it may be debated that the ties of members in online communities may not be as strong as those in actual communities, there are certainly advantages that can make up for it.

Existing popular online communities such as Friendster and MySpace and Hardwarezone have been a real hit with Singaporean users. According to guest speaker Ben Koe, various online communities serve different purposes. Cozycot (http://forums.cozycot.com) for example, has information and prices on all the latest cosmetic products available. It’s almost like a girl’s dream come true! Harwarezone (http//www.hardwarezone.com), which has more than 250,000 members, is a forum that allows people to discuss about tech stuff and gadgets. Members can put up reviews, and price guides to inform other members and updates of new gadgets.
Here lies the introduction of a new online community. Twitter. What is Twitter? Is it just another rip-off or spawn of the other many online communities? Well, each of these online communities are in certain ways similar, but they all have their advantages in other aspects.

So why Twitter?

Twitter is a hub that allows you to check in with your friends and updates you on what they are up to almost instantaneously. Twitter’s main interface has a theme with the heading “What are you doing?” It prompts you to type in text so that the people in your network would, well, know what you are doing! After submitting a post, it encourages you to create another post. Having use Twitter, it’s almost comparable to advertising moments of your life, of course the positive aspect to it, is that you get to choose which aspect you want revealed. Imitating the short-message-service (SMS) format, each entry allows for 140 characters chunk which would engage everyone in your community in a timely conversation. You can send notices or updates through your cell phone, IM or through the web to notify your friends and followers of the events in your day. Twitter.com isn’t just an ordinary online community; it encompasses many components and has the ability for immediate response.

References:

Fernback, J. & Thompson, B. (1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry or Failure? Retrieved on March 15, 2007 from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html


Virtual Communities. (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on March 15, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Twitter&oldid=115023086

Wellman, B. & Gulia, M. (1996). Netsurfers Don't Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities. Retrieved on March 15, 2007 from http://www.acm.org/%7Eccp/references/wellman/wellman.html

Stop Looking Over My Shoulder!

It’s another day in your life and there you are doing the monotonous events that occur so ever often that it has become a habit. There you are buying your usual preference of coffee choice at a Starbucks café and walking out when you suddenly receive a phone call. “Hey, how about getting me a mocha frapp!” You start to freak out. Suddenly you feel as if your friend is watching you from somewhere and even though it is someone you know, the whole notion of you thinking that you were alone has been violated. You start looking around frantically to see where your friend is and you start to get a little edgy and uncomfortable.

Now, imagine if this was happening to you everyday, all the time, where someone is watching over you. It would be like living a life Jim Carrey did in The Truman Show. The act of self-disclosure is important in people’s lives because it may help in developing relationships. However, self-disclosure is usually voluntary. Humans need boundaries. The fast paced advancement in technology however, allows room for your privacy to be invaded. Be it the activities you carry out on the computer, the various functions that your cell phone possesses that you think are inventions of pure ingenuity, are all ways in which strangers can gather information about you. (Sullivan, 2006)

So what exactly is privacy? When an individual or groups of people feel the need to keep their personal information, affairs or control the amount of information they want disclosed. Privacy may be voluntary disclosed, but though it may be beneficial at times, it could also bring about some form of detriment to the individual disclosing the information. (Wikipedia Privacy, 2007)

If we treasured our privacy, why do we still subject ourselves to vulnerable instances where our lines of boundaries are crossed? In a perfect world, a relationship of trust and emotional connection with any other individual should include reciprocal self-disclosure. (Rosen, 2004) In the Internet age, we are usually obligated to reveal information about ourselves to people whom we will never meet face to face. Usually, when we sign ourselves up or register for some service online, we are compelled to reveal personal details of ourselves before completing the registration. This information unfortunately, may not be as exclusive to that particular service as you think it is. Information given may be manipulated to a certain extent without our knowledge. Sometimes, we receive emails or messages on our cell phones by organizations with whom we are not affiliated with, but seem to know sufficient information about us to know that we fit their particular target market.

If you have ever seen an episode of the hit TV series 24, you will be appalled by what technology can do. Aside from the dramatic factors that some of the elements of the show is make believe to enhance the attraction feature of a show, there are certain aspects that are as real as can be. It is without a doubt, that the activities you indulge in everyday at work could easily be monitored. Outgoing emails could be monitored by higher management and conversations on the phones could be “tapped”. CCTV’s could also be installed in offices to “watch” over the staff. All these elements of surveillance infringe our privacy and it can be rather distressing for an employee. Though not all employees breach company policies by using company resources for personal gains, the psychological reactance that some may get from the fact that they are being “watched” all the time may be excruciatingly detrimental to an individual’s mental state.

References:

Rosen, J. (19th July, 2004). "The Naked Crowd". Retrieved on 9th March, 2007 from http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/0000000CA5FF.htm

Sullivan, B. (17th October, 2006). "Privacy Lost: Does Anyone Care?". Retrieved on 9th March, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Privacy (7th March, 2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 9th March, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Privacy&oldid=113354124

QOTW4: It's a Punter's World

It is truly fascinating how much information one may receive from the Internet. The convenient touch of the fingertips to obtain information comes from the relentless creators of every website that we find useful. Just like Wal-mart, people are creating websites that mirror a one-stop centre. With the ever changing society, time constraints and personal commitments, people just want to be able to satisfy all their needs, if possible, at one single place. A fine example of such a website is http://www.asianbookie.com/. The wonders of this website appeals to soccer fanatics, or rather punters actually. It contains fixtures of most of the major soccer leagues in the world, it has a section with news on sports and updates, and it even has information on which soccer games are broadcasted on which TV channels in South East Asia. But, most of all, it has a forum, a place where pundits and sports fanatics unite, to share their views, post their match analysis and predictions.

The concept of gift economy lies in the forums provided in the website. Members of the website share the common interest of sports-betting and offer in-depth analysis to certain games. A few would go to the extent of gathering data on previous matches; histories of previous games played between the two teams and formulate calculated predictions. When data or information moves online, it becomes shared with everyone else and a particular individual’s use of that certain data will not impede others from utilizing it in the same fashion.(Gift Economy, 2007) Once a post is up, every member and non member may benefit from the information given. Non-members, however, are not permitted to post their opinions or comments. (Kollock, 1999) Other members who have read the post, could post their own opinions from the information they have acquired or even ask questions pertaining to the entry. It is without a doubt, that some of the information provided, in a way contributes to the good of the members and public. This is one of the significant properties of online interaction which is extremely extraordinary in the history of our society. (Kollock, 1999)
The fundamentals of Internet gift economy is based on a few principals.1) Exchange in the Internet gift economy facilitates reciprocity. 2) Reciprocity in the form of intangible rewards. (Veale,2003) There are ways to facilitate reciprocity in gift economies. Elements of reciprocity in this environment can be either direct or indirect. Reciprocity may also be delayed simply because of synchronous and anonymous nature of the Internet. Direct reciprocity occurs when the provider of the information posts his opinion and receives a positive response from another user. It is indirect when the individual uses other materials and resources from the forum. It is delayed in a sense that the rewards received are not instantaneous. (Veal, 2003)

So we ask ourselves, what exactly motivates the members of the forum to put themselves through exhaustive efforts to produce these information? If the likelihood for future responses of the other members of the forum is what drives a member to continue contributing information, then the chances of sharing this intangible information will increase. Also, further interaction will likely occur if members find each others comments useful. One of the reasons could be self interest and efficacy. Some members feel very strongly about their ability to analyze games, or some simply have access to other information which they think may be useful. With their strong interest for the game and the need to share their opinions, they then provide the public good. If a large number of users respond to their post, especially if they were positive responses, the individual who posted the valuable information would feel as if he/she has made a certain amount of impact in the environment and feel appreciated. The possibility of contributing because of the element of reputation could be another reason. If prestige was one of the factors that encourage a member to contribute, then recurring requests for their opinions would heighten the need for the individual to contribute. And if the information or predictions provided were constantly beneficial to the public and users of the website credit the individual with recognition and request for their opinions on a regular basis, it would increase the prestige of that particular individual. (Kollock, 1999)

These are a few possibilities of the success of http://www.asianbookie.com/ ‘s forum. And since there is a certain expectation for reciprocation from individuals and it has been provided, though not to all, it is one of the ingenious contriving factors that contribute to the success of forums.

References:

Gift Economy (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retreived on February 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gift_economy&oldid=105681971

Kollock, P. (1999). The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace. Retreived on February 6, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

Veale K.J (2003). Internet Gift Economies: Voluntary Payment Schemes as Tangible Reciprocity. Retrived on February 7, 2007 from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/veale/index.html

COM125 Week 2: Welcome to IRC

One of the main reasons for the creation of the Internet was to allow an alternative for communication. It was supposedly used for military purposes, to allow communication through computer networks. With the continual technological growth of the Internet, it has brought about a whole new wave of communication.

The expansion of the Internet also brought about the development of the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web allows users to read and write via computers who are connected to the Internet. Since the evolution of the World Wide Web in 1980, it has been morphing into a form of communication that the inventors of the web never expected. Through this growth, it spawned IRC which is also known as Internet Relay Chat.( Wikipedia, 2006)

Internet Relay Chat is a form of real time chat. It allows many-to-many communication through “channels”. These channels are like discussion forums that allow people to communicate with one another. For example, if a user of IRC is in a channel, he/she may type a message in that particular channel and all the users in the channel may see the message. However, IRC users may also choose to have more privacy as it permits the user to have one-to-one communication which also includes the function of data transfer and file sharing. (Wikipedia, IRC)


In a realistic fashion, IRC is an alternative to communicating with people instantaneously without the hassle of affording long distance and conference call charges. With the ability to chat with someone from any part of the world, IRC has diminished the obstacle of distance and conveniently, minimize costs too.

How then, does IRC work? IRC uses the TCP/IP protocol in a client/server model. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP) were the first two networking protocols that were relatively distinct in the Internet world (Rayome & Romig, 1998). The TCP/IP model is in fact a concept of a layered description for communications and network protocol design (Wikipedia, TCP/IP). So, when using IRC, a request is made by the user/client in which the server receives. The server would then establish a socket for the client/server communications so that the server can listen to user/client requests.


There are various IRC networks that run in a particular fashion different from the others. When a client uses a particular network, they can only communicate with people on that network and not with others on different networks. These networks however, comprises of a myriad of IRC servers and the IRC client is a program that links that specific IRC server to permit the relaying of communications between clients of the identical network.

Once, the user has chosen to run a IRC server or application, the client of that application would then execute the commands of the user. These commands are instructed by the user by typing them out. Normally, these commands are responsible for the transference of messages and also to retain connection with the IRC server should the user become inactive. (Rayome & Romig, 1998)
Most people who use the internet back then, use emails and some even participated on Usenet newsgroups or visited forums in AOL. It is without doubt, that in that era, these technologies had their positive strengths. The one limitation or flaw that these technologies suffered from was the inability to communicate at real time. The messaging system that E-mail uses lacks the spontaneity of a real live interaction. Though this may be an advantage because it would mean that people can reply at their own discretion but if time were of the essence, being able to instantaneously reply and converse with someone would seem extremely beneficial.

IRC has been an increasingly popular activity on the Internet since its creation by Jarkko Oikarinen in Finland in 1988. You could almost equate it to the Internet’s counterpart of the CB Radio (Citizen’s Band Radio) (Wikipedia,IRC). But the uniqueness of IRC is that it allows people from various parts of the world to actively take part in real time conversations. The evolution of instant messaging today based on client-to-server IRC protocols are derived from the protocol that was used in the irc2.8 version of the IRC2sever. Today, application programs such as ICQ, mIRC and Messenger are such widely used methods of communication that most of us take for granted. These services boast of audio/video sharing, data/file transfers, real time live feed of visuals and audio, and VoIP (Voice over IP).

It is without a doubt, how important communication is. That is why we constantly and relentlessly devote so much effort into improving the various forms of communication. IRC has been one of the prototypes of the instant messaging that spawned the likes of most of the messaging programs we use today.

References

History of World Wide Web (5 September, 2006). In Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Retrived January 26, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_World_Wide_Web&oldid=73974490

Internet Protocol Suite. In Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 26
, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCP/IP

TCP/IP model. The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 26, 2007 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCP/IP_model


History of the Internet (20 August, 2006). In Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 26, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_Internet&oldid=70771572

J. Rayome & S. Romig (May 22, 1998). “IRC on your dime? What you really need to know about Internet Relay Chat” Retrieved January 26, 2007 from http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/302851-mpSM9L/webviewable/302851.pdf