I did not agree with the social networking programs that Rheingold mentioned in the reading. I think that those social networking programs take too much away from actual human interaction. I do not have a problem with social networking sites because I believe they are able to enhance the amount of communication within people, but with the other social networking programs mentioned I feel they inherently diminish the basis of human interactions because one no longer has to go out and meet anyone; technology pinpoints people for one. This takes away a lot from getting to know someone on a personal and intimate level. Besides, I think these social networking programs are creepy because of the ability for others to know exactly where you are at all times. I prefer human interaction that comes naturally and spontaneous, then I can build on these interactions with social networking sites.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Technology and Politics & Technology and Society
In the reading of "Smart Mobs", I found particularly interesting the way technology has altered and improved the way people gather. More importantly, this more efficient gathering has led to direct political movements. We have come a long way since the word-of-mouth form of gathering. Now, for example, we can use social networking sites to create events and invite as many people as we want or we can send mass text messages to people we know, then it would spread to people they know and so on. Rheingold cites specific examples of how technology has gathered people to form political movements in recent years. He mentions a movement in the Phillipines that formed by means of text messages. This movement ousted the president with a non-violent demonstration in 2001. Then in Seattle, technology once again was responsible for the gathering of a protest. Rheingold said that this protest was an ad hoc alliance that was able to gather people from different affinity groups. I do not think that technology changes the purposes or goals of a protest; rather, it affects the means of gathering in a much more efficient and rapid manner to achieve those same goals.
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So my lack of blog knowledge as well as my brain death from a ridiculous bio midterm has left me unable to remember how to make a post, so i apologize for posting as a comment, but you gotta do what you gotta do!
ReplyDeleteANYWAY, this post is about the ridiculous anime short film we watched today.
As odd as it was, it had many elements which we could related to in a contemporary sense. The whole story kinda of reminded me of the film "The Notebook"....but in a more intense sense. The love for eachother shared by the characters is one that cannot be altered or changed. It is so strong in fact that it persists through distance and time. Ultimately they would be awesome at having a long-distance relationship. But just like any couple, rather any person, they exhibit human signs of weakness and hardship about the status of the relationship.
What makes the characters from todays film especially interesting is that their relationship spans across such a wide distance! They are light years away from each other and just sending messages seems to send years. Having that little communication with a partner must be especially difficult to deal with and even made more challenging by the age gap (produced by light speed travel, dont ask how, it just happens!). With all these factors, the characters struggle to maintain their "relationship" and eventually after years seem to give it up. But dont just retire their feelings. Both reminisce on the times they shared and cherish them dearly, yet understand that they must move on with their lives. Sure, the girl somehow returned then they could be together again but given their current circumstances, it becomes impossible to maintain their romance and they both finally accept it by the end, kinda.
so what are we left with?! DONT BE IN A LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP! hhaha jk.
but seriously, the film was able to show that romance can exist and pervade through great distances if their is even "love" shared by the two partners. Hey, as the movie goes to show, love can exist across planetary systems!
-Nima Rejali
First, Kevin: I don't think you're the only one who finds the prospect of ubiquitous computing somewhat disturbing, even if the devices produced do help us to navigate the world and connect with other people. Computers will become and in some cases have already become a part of our clothing, our appliances in our homes, our cars, etc. Some theorists argue that instead of letting these computers invisibly invade our living environments, we should deliberately make them visible to that we are at least aware of their mediation.
ReplyDeleteNima: I appreciate your posting despite the bio-midterm-brain-frying. I'm not sure I would call the film "ridiculous," though! Sometimes art is deliberately absurd, but I think in this case Makoto Shinkai was more interested in rendering a relatively realistic story.