Well its the first week of studies in MED104. This week we looked at an interesting short animation educating us on the way modern technology has affected us socially and politically throughout history. Its sad to see some forms of media die out such as newspapers and magazines, kind of the way I feel about having my music digitally and not a large cd or record collection – but we all have to adapt to truly benefit from the advances in technology and the internet so I try to embrace it when I can. An interesting quote from Kurzweilm (2009) was mentioned in the video “So what used to fit in a building now fits in your pocket, what fits in your pocket will fit inside a blood cell in 25 years” I found the concept of the quote both frightening and intriguing and researched where the quote came from. I Kurzweil’s article on “How to Combat Ageing” which is where the quote was taken from which led me onto some interesting articles by scientists basically trying to predict the future based on the current pace of technological advances. Kurzweil (2009) makes a very good argument against some theories that you cannot stop ageing and has some interesting ideas about the future of technology – as per his quote. When we were asked by our tutor to consider the video in terms of the data and connectivity required in modern day life and the people who may not have access to benefit from technologies, the first thing that popped into my head was how it would affect homeless people.
Also, we were asked to assess whether or not we are afraid of the internet this week. After reading a mixture of reactions from my fellow students, I concluded that I fear the overwhelming enormity and opportunity of the internet to a degree but and not anymore fearful of being victimised online than I am offline. I am conscious of my behaviours in both realm’s equally.
I found Jenkins analysis on information studies a little hard to swallow so early in the unit, however I appreciate it was a good way to show us the different topics and arguments that we can draw upon for our own works. I feel the argument Jenkins (2009) makes regarding “Critiquing” free labor was the most valuable for me personally as a designer. The impact of the power WEB2.0 offers us to create and contribute then used to make revenue by certain sites and platforms (ie – your facebook photo’s being used in Facebook advertisments – don’t worry, you agreed to it) is something that can have a negative impact on the industry I hope to make a career out of eventually.
Jenkins, H (2009, April 10) Critical Information Studies for a Participatory Culture (Part Two) [weblog post] Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2009/04/what_went_wrong_with_web_20_cr_1.html
Kurzweil, R (2009) Ray Kurzweil on How to Combat Aging, Technology Review. Retrieved from http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/guest/23802/
