Week Five - Lecture Summary

So this week we were focused on the idea of Media (or Social Media if you are so inclined) and this idea of identity. It all starts from this new generation of the web (web 2.0) and with this new revolution comes a new way to socialise and it was available to everybody not just the technology awear. An interesting point stuck out for me and it was the idea of social networking site, I mean we all use them.


I sometime feel the whole social networking revolution has gotten a little out of hand, I mean I have friends who spend about 4 hours or more a day on Facebook or Twitter. To be honest I dont really care to know if you've just gone to the toilet or have just been to the dentist. But as a very wise lecturer pointed out, this mundane content is why the internet is better than ever. These sites have made the internet so accessible that even your average Joe can broadcast his latest bowel movement.

But there are certain issues that surround these sites, particularly Facebook and Myspace. When setting up a Facebook or Myspace page you agree to a T.O.S (Terms of Service). This usually goes unnoticed due to the pure excitement of finally making a Facebook page. But what it means is that they can use your photos, text, videos, basically everything you put on your page, they can use it and they don't owe you a thing. (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/terms.php?ref=pf) I guess it's just something to think about.

Another great thing about the new generation of internet users is something called the Attention Economy. Who wants you to look at what? I took this to mean ad space on the internet. Marketing love the internet, its a quick direct way to access their consumers. And thanks to a little thing call a cookie they can track what you look at and when and then can advertize according to this information. It's not a widely used method but one big corporation was caught doing it. Sony was recently discovered to be using Cookies, this is what they had to say:
"Cookies help Sony understand which parts of its websites are the most popular, where Sony visitors are going, and how much time they spend there." (http://www.sony.co.uk/pages/privacy/Privacy_statement_en_GB.html#When-Sony-discloses-Personal-Data)

So yes the internet has allowed us to sociallise in ways that weren't even imaginable 30 years ago. So my advice? Use it wisely.