Technology, Control, Surveillance, Activism

links

2006-11-30T10:02:00.000-08:00

danah boyd

profilesnitch.com
profilesnoop.com

some url's

2006-11-30T09:17:00.000-08:00

These are the Url's i'm using today

Mcluhan

Josh Silver blog

Indy media

Another Cool Blog site

2006-11-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

Here is another blog site discusing a type of Ubiquitous Surveillance Technology. It discusses how the national security is more advanced as we perceive it to be (this ties with Chris' statement that the government monitors our perception and what (or how) we perceive.
A tool called Dust- a small device enabled with wireless networking can be used in surveillance technology, allowing one to be ubiquitous (unseen/undetected).
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/19/111529.php

Here is a political blog discussing whether or not it is ideal for the government to watch everyone with RFID (a type of chip)
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=4843

There are hundreds of cameras on the streets, inside buildings (even in Temple classrooms), watching people everyday. Here is one watching the subway in pursuit of security. http://www.sousveillance.org/journal/?p=22

Response to Chris

2006-11-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

I think you did a good job of connecting tribal consciousness with control. It ties in with your discussion o how the media is a form of control in influence the "tribes" perception. You will do just fine if you can provide examples to help with your explanation. It helps with associating the topic to what we experience.

This is my part of the presentation

2006-11-29T21:08:00.000-08:00

This is what I wrote for my section of the presentation, if there are things spelled wrong, bad sentence structure, and all that jazz don't worry about it. I'll check it our more tomorrow, but if you think I should include something else then just comment it. Thanks,

Chris

Presentation:
The quote Mcluhan had that “society is shaped more by the nature of the media than by the content of communication,” is essentially what McLuhan’s philosophy is all about. McLuhan also states that the electric movement creates and involvement that is total meaning that their is more of a sense of collectivity in this electronic media landscape. Because the electronic mediums break down barriers of space and time they help us come closer to the world and have what McLuhan calls tribal consciousness. This is the effect electronic technologies have on people and before I move further I want to illustrate McLuhan’s idea on the medium is the message.
Essentially what Mcluhan wants us to understand is that it is not about the content we receive from the medium, but the medium itself that alters our relationships to one another and to ourselves. For example if we are to look at the light bulb as a medium we would see that the content of it might be a nighttime baseball game or brain surgery. What is important about the light-bulb is how this medium shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and interaction.
Now, if we were to take this theory to evaluating traditional electronic media or pre-internet media we would find that these mediums are instantaneous. We have an instant connection to somewhere or someone else when we watch the television or listen to the radio. This forms a more tribal intellect for human beings. These electronic technologies such as the film create instant lineal configurations for us to connect to the world.
In the present age of the internet this medium provides us with the element of human interactivity. This is the goal of the electric technologies and they have culminated in a decentralized “global village” if you will. The instantaneous connection between individuals around the globe is what essentially sets the internet apart from other media because they were all one way mediums while the internet reverses this.
In the internet environment there are elements of decentralization, egalitarianism, and democracy that exist due to the nature of the medium. If we are to talk specifically on a theoretical basis about blogs we can see that activist bloggers enjoy the freedom of an environment of non-oppression. They have no roadblocks in the way and they can have an unlimited amount of people viewing their blogsite.
In the traditional electronic technologies this was not possible for many activists because the traditional media (tv, radio, film, etc.) were and are still dominated by corporate control. This has numerous implications on viewpoints and democracy in a political culture. To start activists have a small chance of getting onto network television because of their so-called “radical” views. This is because media corporations a profit-driven organizations in-which it is in their nature to maximize profits for their corporate controllers and shareholders. If they were to allow, say, a socialist activist on-air they would be going against their interests as a corporation. Not to mention they would most-likely lose advertising because advertisers want a pro-corporate atmosphere on broadcasts.
Another thing is that activists who are critical of the government in ways that the government isn’t critical of itself will not get put on-air either. The media corporations have a harsh lobby on politicians from both parties and these parties give them good legislation, specifically helping approve mergers, and deregulate the industry. So, media corporations don’t want to rock the political boat for fear that their viewers might get the wrong message about their government and vote in leaders that could possibly hurt the media.
In this corporate environment there is also an amount of control over the masses which exists. Corporations as illustrated earlier don’t want viewers and the masses to think outside the box. They will present information as if it were outside the box, but really it is information that is in a small realm rather than a larger realm, which would have more information that is healthy for a democracy. This is the problem that McLuhan has shown in that the content does affect the viewers because the viewers will take the information they’re given and construct a world-view with it and in this case one that is pro-elite and corporate saturated.
Now with the extension of the internet this is flipped around very much because activists now have instantaneous access to each other and don’t have to go through one of the traditional mediums. The internet is not a one-way medium, but one filled with user interaction. Activists can make their own blogs, news websites, and their own art. We can look at the critical art ensemble, Indymedia, and numerous other activist areas that couldn’t exist in a corporate media controlled environment.
We can conclude that McLuhan’s theories on electric technologies are correct in that they do change social relationships and interaction with one another, but we can see that this isn’t totally the case because the content does have an affect on the viewer’s opinion and ideology of the world and his environment.

Watching them, Watching Us

2006-11-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

Surveillance can create either a positive or a negative experience for those being monitored or those monitoring. Through the use of Technology and surveillance, society can monitor the actions of political issues, public figures, and activity in everyday life.

http://www.bernal.co.uk/capitulo1.htm

The Negative affects of surveillance on everyday life
When the internet was created no one thought that it would have potential to be a threat to society and those who use it. We access site logins, passwords, and bank accounts everyday, not thinking about if someone is watching.

They Are Watching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQbVD5hlddk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx9IEP8pmiI

We carry survelliance items with us in our pockets. Many stores persuade customers with disconts with swipeable bar codes that go one keychains. Little do we know that they are monitoring our purchasing habits, to see what we buy, or what we don't buy. Think of the damage that can happen if you happen to lose your keys. With just one swipe, your home address, email, and name pave the way for possible identity theft.

Surveillance technology is accessiable to anyone and everyone. People can by spy ware off the net and put people in unfortunate circumstances
http://www.surveillancetechnology.com/

Just Another number
Social Security Numbers aren't enough. The government may want us to carry ID cards for random security checks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx9IEP8pmiI

The FBI wanted to eavesdrop into phone conversations, and internet activity. This may have been a problem if you were a terrorist, but the inncocent still want to practice their right of privacy. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/18/221437.shtml

Maybe Its A Good Thing!?!

We can surveillance the activity of public figures, including entertainers and politicians through news on the web.

The recent Michael Richards' comedy incident is displayed heavily on the web, unfortunatel for Richards. As a society, we can monitor or inform others about indecent behavior.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061121/ap_on_en_tv/people_michael_richards

John Allen had a similar incident in August.
Sen. George Allen (R-VA), speaking a campaign event last week, called a young Indian-American man who was working for his opponent a "macaque" or "macaca" -- the name of a type of monkey, and a word that in parts of the world is considered a racial slur against dark-skinned people.

Allen, who has ambitions to be the 2008 Republican candidate for president, has apologized and met with Indian-American political leaders.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL3Q9gUEvtA

People can use surveillance as a form of activism

A group can protest the governments surveillance and tapping of phone lines by launching political websites as a tool to inform. This group here seeks to stop the president from passing a bill that allows government surveillance. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/18/221437.shtml

Watching them, Watching Us

2006-11-29T18:59:00.001-08:00

Allen, who has ambitions to be the 2008 Republican candidate for president, has apologized and met with Indian-American political leaders.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL3Q9gUEvtA

Watching them, Watching Us

2006-11-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

McLuhan on youtube

2006-11-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

I found this short video that I could show in my section of the presentation. I think it's very fitting to what I need to talk about. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7GvQdDQv8g

-Chris

taking shopping one step further in singapore

2006-11-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

Shopping malls in Singapore have started using mobile technology to help shoppers along their way. By sending a text message to a number displayed at the mall entrance estimating you shopping time and choosing your preferences, the mall will then send you texts while you are shopping, informing you about special sales, coupons and other incentives.

Disney Mobile

2006-11-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

There is a new Disney Mobile family phone that has some heavy surveillance and control options for parents.. what does this mean for parents and their kids?

relevant article

2006-11-25T12:25:00.000-08:00

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/opinion/guests/143688,211guc4.article

this article reminded me of pretty much everything alex and i were talking about with sarah

Cellphone Video Power: We're watching each other

2006-11-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

This article discusses the use of "moblogging" as a growing medium. A trucker captured a huge pile up on his cell phone, and the footage was aired on the evening news in Japan.

Video shot from a student's cellphone captures a UCLA cop repeatedly tasering a student for not showing ID.

Here are three videos taken during class:

This demonstrates the almost creepy, voyeuristic capabilities everyday people have to monitor and record anyone, at any time, thanks to cellphone technology.

This raises an important question: In our culture, there are eyes everywhere. But who's watching? Is it big brother, or you and me?

2006-11-21T23:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have some books thats I'm going to look through for my part of the presentation:

For Marshall Mcluhan I'll reread the article in our textbook and some stuff out of his book "Understanding Media". There is another article in the new media reader titled "the medium is the message" which is in "Understanding Media", so I'll read through the book a little more for some elaboration.

I also have some books on the politics with one specifically on corporate control of media and how people are challenging it. It is called "Our media, not theirs." I have a few other books specifically on media control which I will look through as well.

I think I should be ok checking over these texts to show the theoretical side of new media (specifically the internet) and how it challenges other media forms (tv, radio, etc.). As far as corporate control of media goes I will show how the internet and specifically blogs are a major alternative to this. Hopefully this will cover the theory and politics/economics of mass media and the internet. I haven't delved into any texts so far except for "Our media, not theirs". I will post again when I can read all of the texts and make a more coherent structure of how I will organize my section of the project.

Have a good thanksgiving,
Chris

danah boyd Lecture

2006-11-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the danah boyd lecture. From the site:

"boyd, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Information, explores how young people negotiate the presentation of self in online mediated contexts. Her research focuses on how this young audience engages with "digital publics" - connected social spaces such as MySpace, LiveJournal, Xanga and YouTube.

Currently, boyd is a Graduate Fellow at the USC Anneberg Center, and social media researcher at Yahoo! Research Berkeley. Her recent work has explored diverse topics such as the creation of digital publics in Myspace.com (Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace), the design of culturally adaptive software (G/localization: When Global Information and Local Interaction Collide), and the exploration of folksonomy (HT06, Tagging Paper, Taxonomy, Flickr, Academic Article, ToRead).

At Berkeley, boyd is advised by Peter Lyman and Mimi Ito. She holds an M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied with Judith Donath at the Media Lab, and a B.A. from Brown University. boyd is frequently cited in top media, including the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR and Salon.com. She even went toe-to-toe with scary old Bill O'Reilly once. boyd blogs at www.zephoria.org/thoughts/, a must-read destination for those interested in social technology."

2006-10-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

So, I'm not sure if we should be putting stuff on here yet, but I figure it couldn't hurt. There is something out there called "Net Neutrality" where if it isn't passed the 1st Amendment Laws invlving the internet could be severley damaged. This is because companies like Verion and AT&T could have control over the websites you see, for example if you wanted to go to abebooks.com Verizon might slow down your connection to it or not connect you at all if say Amazon.com pays Verizon to connect users to its site. Verizon could actually redirect you to Amazon.com in this case, so as you can see this severley threatens the liberties of internet users, which would suck for the people and give more power to the corporations. Passing "Net Neutrality" will stop all of this nonsense, which is what needs to happen if the people want the internet to be a free place.

So, check out http://www.savetheinternet.com/ to read more about it.

I guess this works

2006-09-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

So, I'm guessing this is working.