MUDs

In Reingold's article he talks of MUDS being the wild side of cyberspace culture where magic is real and identity is fluid. This class has really opened my eyes to the cyberlife that I had no clue of. MUDs, Multi-User Dungeons, is a computer database where "people use worlds and all the objects in them, solve puzzles, invent imusements and tools, compete for prestige and power, gain wisdom, seek revenge, indulge greed and lust violent impulses." MUDs are very powerful; it is just a different world. MUDs allow a person to choose their own identity and role-play in order to come off a certain way. Some positive effects of MUDs would be getting to know yourself better, interacting socially (on the internet), and learning through different people. With the positive effects there are always negative effects. In this case the positive in MUDs actually become the negatives and backfires. MUDs come off as a source of communication and entertainment, but can also pose many threats, where even MUDs have been banned from campuses (said in Reingold's article). Some people may think they are learning more about themselves through these virtual lives, but in the end they could actually be losing themselves and what they believe. With MUDs, allowing one to pose as various and multiple persons, people can make things up and not tell the truth. In reality what one may think they are learning from other people may full-openly be a lie. Another negative effect of MUD's is that people can talk sexually and etc. where things can get serious and lead to emotional hurt. The scary thing is people may not think they could actually let this happen, but they could get so caught up with this virtual life that they fall for these "false" people or possibly meet up and things could get very sketchy and dangerous. Speaking of getting caught up, one of the biggest reasons for MUDs banning from campuses was, because some people were spending 80 hours a week on it leading to a distraction from school. Believe it or not, addiction can occur from these MUDs. I was exploring youtube and i typed multi-user dungeons in. It brought me to a page where 12 videos popped up of how to use these MUDs and what to do. The specific video I clicked on was twenty minutes long! I was so shocked that there were so many videos of MUDs. I feel like I am in a culture-shock! Reingold's article has really allowed me to understand virtual communities and the use of MUD's. I believe MUDs pose dangers and takes people away from the "real world," but it is hard to distinguish what is right in our liberal pop cultural world. In the end one has to stick with their values and their beliefs of whether to pursue in these virtual communities and take on multiple identities!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1TaqB0ANfk

Virtual Community

Howard Reingold’s, “The Virtual Community” informs us of WELL which is the Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link. WELL allows people around the world to interact via email and carry on public conversations. The virtual communities through WELL are like “real life” with WELL marriages, birth, and funerals. It all seems so strange, but the reality of it all, it is really not. Virtual communities enable us to do the same thing in real life except “leaving our bodies behind.” Virtual communities can be used as a form of psychotherapy, but some tend to get addicted spending 80 hours a week pretending to be someone else. These “MUDS” are getting banned at colleges. Reingold argues that CMC, computer-mediated communications, has the potential to change our lives on three different levels. The first level is that individuals with our thoughts, perceptions, and personalities are affected by the ways we use the medium. The second level is the possible change of person-to-person interaction, such as relationships between others occurs. The third level is the possible change in our lives through politics. CMC and WELLS have a strong effect on our lives whether we know it or not. An example I found on YouTube is a first hand perspective of virtual communities. One individual spoke of being apart of virtual communities, because it is a feeling of not being alone. He said, “I can just turn off the computer when I want to.” Being apart of a virtual community is a sense of control that a lot of people thrive on. Many people said it is a means of relating with others, and feeling a closeness that some real life people in their lives do not share with them. I do agree with Reingold’s argument of the effects and levels that CMC provides. However, I feel that being apart of a virtual community is losing one’s own privacy. I also feel that it can get very addicting and allow some to stray away from “real life” and be strapped down to their computer. I feel that people have a right to do what they want and spend their time freely, but I really think people should consider virtual community as a means of isolation that can take a toll on their real-life social skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpHKt1IkxqA

Keen's Noble Amateur

In the "Noble Amateur" Keen argues that Web 2.0 is changing cultural landscape but not for the better. Web 2.0 such as Youtube, facebook, and myspace is taking over our culture. Keen states, "This is what happens when ignorance meets egoism meets bad taste meet mob rule." Keen is implying that our generation is filled with tastless, useless information that is only means for entertainment. I agree with Keen, but is it not what our society wants and craves? We are a world of expression now and free-will; we thrive on thrills and celebrity gossip. Keen also writes of fact and one's opinion tied in with expertise and amateurism. This is very true, and our class on Colbert and Wikipedia proves that. I had no clue people could type or change the definition of a term. To me that sounds unreal and maybe our society is becoming too expressive. Where Keen was coming from when he talked of Web 2.0 changing cultural lansdscape for not the better, was that people anymore go for sites that our most popular, but not necessarily relevant. It is a vicious cycle and it is so easy to get things turned around on cyberspace, but people just need to be smart about these things and trust their judgements and instincts. An example I found of this is from Youtube. This video talks of the internet spreading lies. It talks of Wikipedia again being a place for possible irrelevance. The pictures displayed on the video were pictures that were photoshopped to preceive a particular person or object falsly. Keen also argues that these so called free websites are not really so free after all. So many people are putting out in cyberspace their information. Privacy seems to be no longer such a thing. These website producers are giving us a share of their creation and with that in return we are giving them some of our information as sourses of entertainment! I agree with Keen in his article about our culture and Web 2.0 being a harm to our society. With the good always comes the bad. In conclusion it is life, so we have to be careful and take information posted online like a grain of salt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnWI2oStmdw

The Chase in Transmedia Storytelling

Henry Jenkin’s Transmedia Storytelling 101, “represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience.” Transmedia storytelling is based more on words and word-building instead of specific characters or plots. Words can go a long way. The more marketing, the more people are going to know about the product and talk about the product, which equals more business. This new tool is a creative mechanism that keeps the audience wanting more. Instead of the audience knowing everything about a movie through previews, this transmedia storytelling only gives hints to what the story may lead to. The audience is forced to find other sources that may fill in more pieces of the puzzle just as Cloverfield was potrayed. Many movies are starting to use transmedia storytelling as money builders. The more items, the more money. Tomb Raider is an excellent example of transmedia storytelling. A fan can read Tomb Raider in a book, watch the movie, play the video game, buy the dolls, or even see the character Lara in pictures of what she would look like in “real life.” Transmedia storytelling allows the audience to get involved on a more personable level. Lara is a very adventurous and intriguing character that really keeps the audience coming back for more. An audience wants suspense and yearns to see what is up the producer’s sleeve next. The more options an audience has to a particular program the better. Businesses that use transmedia storytelling everywhere, such as in television, the internet, comic books, etc. will do better than those businesses that leave no chase and no imagination. Transmedia storytelling is a clever tool that I think Jenkins did a good job getting the message out there. Everyone wants a little bit of word fiction and creative gestures that keeps them wanting more, because in the end when we figure everything out it is the best reward and satisfaction!