- All websites found and reviewed by: James Wrona
Worst Web Site Design: Million Dollar Home Page
- http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com -
I honestly don't even know what I'm supposed to say about this site. I'm honestly afraid to click on anything on the website although the entire website is one ginormous hyperlink. What especially angers me about this site is that the creator of this has actually made one million dollars by creating the website. The website's ginormous image, which is the only thing on the website, consists of a bunch of microscopic images that don't really link to anything different and you can't read what the microscopic images are supposed to say or be of. Definitely the worst web site design that I have ever seen in my long history of using the Internet.
Best Web Site Design: Gamebattles
- http://gamebattles.majorleaguegaming.com -
I used to be obsessed with this website because I used to play a lot of competitive video games in middle school and early high school. I always liked the way that they designed their website. The top left corner is the most important part and it has the option for new users to "log in or sign up." Obviously, they are very much aware of the importance of that spot. At the very, very bottom, you will see the copyright information so they obviously knew the lack of importance that the bottom of a web page has. I definitely must congratulate the efforts that went into creating this website because it is a very well deserving winner of my "Best Web Site Design" award.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Blogging on Politics: New Gun Control Laws
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| Amounts of mass shootings in the U.S. since 1999 |
Obviously, such as with any debate there are varying sides to it with different opinions on the matter for each side. The people who are most in opposition to the new gun control law are people who stand by the Second Amendment which gives people the right to bear arms. However, the people against it are making the argument that you can still bear arms but just not as easily as it has been in the past in an attempt to slow down the amounts of shootings that have happened in recent years. There are obviously extremists on both sides as well. On one side, people say to completely eliminate any and all checking and just give people guns when they ask for them. On the other extreme, people are trying to set up armed security guards at each and every school, which if I do say so myself goes against their very message.
Celebrities' "Demand a Plan" PSA
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/us/gun-control-laws-clear-initial-hurdle-in-colorado.html?_r=0
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/15/us/new-york-gun-bill
http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Politics/obama-makes-plea-gun-control-state-union/story?id=18481837
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Questions for "Can Blogs Revolutionize Progressive Politics?"
All answers by James Wrona
1) Why do the Democratic leaders embrace blogging as a potential political communication considering the traditional media landscape in politics?
- Democratic leaders embrace blogging as a potential political communication because it allows for them to get their campaigns out much easier to a younger demographic and a more minority focused demographic through the use of such sites as: Facebook, twitter, and tumblr.
2) Blogging encourages a participatory culture. In what way does the participatory culture in blogging expand digital media convergence?
- Blogging encourages digital media convergence because when someone has something to say, regardless of their expertise in the subject, they can publish their thoughts to the rest of the world who can then share it with all of their friends and send it along to everyone and they can then access it through all of their means of access including mobile devices.
3) In the article, the author says: “The ability of the Internet to erase geographical distances can become a structural weakness in elections where district lines and eligibility are key.” How can blogging counter this weakness in the process of turning the netroots to grassroots?
- Blogging counters those weaknesses in the process by making sure that the people who are going to be most impacted by the topic that is covered in the blog are the ones reading it. Because of that ability to access the information more easily, it gives it a much more basic feel as opposed to being so complicated. By simply clicking a subscribe button on a blog, you are automatically notified when a blog that interests you has a new post much like when you are subscribed to a newspaper company or a magazine and they send it to your house whenever a new version is released.
4) The author spends the second half of the article discussing the lack of diversity in current blogosphere dominated by elite bloggers. Please use the concept of digital convergence to explain how blogs can become the real bearer of freedom, democracy, egalitarianism, and participation in the new media communication?
1) Why do the Democratic leaders embrace blogging as a potential political communication considering the traditional media landscape in politics?
- Democratic leaders embrace blogging as a potential political communication because it allows for them to get their campaigns out much easier to a younger demographic and a more minority focused demographic through the use of such sites as: Facebook, twitter, and tumblr.
2) Blogging encourages a participatory culture. In what way does the participatory culture in blogging expand digital media convergence?
- Blogging encourages digital media convergence because when someone has something to say, regardless of their expertise in the subject, they can publish their thoughts to the rest of the world who can then share it with all of their friends and send it along to everyone and they can then access it through all of their means of access including mobile devices.
3) In the article, the author says: “The ability of the Internet to erase geographical distances can become a structural weakness in elections where district lines and eligibility are key.” How can blogging counter this weakness in the process of turning the netroots to grassroots?
- Blogging counters those weaknesses in the process by making sure that the people who are going to be most impacted by the topic that is covered in the blog are the ones reading it. Because of that ability to access the information more easily, it gives it a much more basic feel as opposed to being so complicated. By simply clicking a subscribe button on a blog, you are automatically notified when a blog that interests you has a new post much like when you are subscribed to a newspaper company or a magazine and they send it to your house whenever a new version is released.
4) The author spends the second half of the article discussing the lack of diversity in current blogosphere dominated by elite bloggers. Please use the concept of digital convergence to explain how blogs can become the real bearer of freedom, democracy, egalitarianism, and participation in the new media communication?
- Digital convergence, like I mentioned earlier, is all about interactivity between users on the blogosphere. Blogs can become the real bearer of freedom, democracy, egalitarianism, and participation in that regard because absolutely anyone who has access to a computer and has an opinion in their head, they can share that information with the rest of the world who can then share it with their friends who share it with theirs and then they leave their thoughts on your thoughts and it goes on and on. Blogs are the perfect outlet for digital media convergence in that regard.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Answers to "Virtual Revolution" Parts 1, 2, and 3
All answers by: James Wrona
1) The web is celebrated as the revolutionary technology that is great leveling of humanity creating equal oppurtunity, equal access, and equal potential. However, there are only a quarter of people on the earth who can use it. How do you explain the controversial argument here?
- The basic issue is regarding countries that are not able to access the internet both in 3rd world locations, such as Africa which was mentioned in the video, and even certain 1st world locations that simply cannot afford a computer or the costs that come with it. So, unfortunately, the 25% of people become handicapped by the web and are unable to connect with the other 75% of the population that cannot use it.
2) How is Wikipedia the best example to implement the leveling ideas of the Web rooted in the cultural revolution of 1960s, namely the Libertarianism in the counter culture? How does it explain some of the digital convergences?
- In Libertarianism, expertise and hierarchy do not matter. That is exactly what Wikipedia is all about. Absolutely anyone from anywhere can post whatever they want onto Wikipedia and have their voices heard regardless of their level of expertise or knowledge on the subject. It's a perfect explanation of digital convergences because it is a bunch of people that are able to connect to each other and share like information through the World Wide Web.
3) How does the Web make it possible for different kinds of digital convergence?
- Like I mentioned in my answer to the previous question, the Web is one of the biggest promoters of digital convergence. It is all about people who, through social media, blogs, and many other forms of communication, are able to access countless content even from their mobile device. That is what digital convergence is all about.
4) How can the Internet become a challenge for traditional authority? Use the political landscape changes in some countries to illustrate your answer.
- The Internet is one of the absolute greatest challenges for traditional authority. The one perfect example is the example of Oly Okollah who began a blog documenting the uncensored truth regarding violence in Kenya. By showing, through the Internet, the harsh treatment people in Kenya were going through, it put immense pressure on the government who started to force change.
5) Do you believe that getting information free can set us free eventually? Why or why not? Do you see any concerns of the complete freedom or self-expression without limit on the Internet? Why or why not?
- I believe that getting information free is good and bad. It's good because, obviously, we all desire to have the access to all the information we can possibly have and we do not like to be kept in the dark regarding anything. However, if we are able to get all our information free, we would begin to settle for information that lacks credibility and expertise. The complete freedom and self-expression without limit on the Internet is also very risky. If something gains credibility when it doesn't rightfully deserve it, people will begin to mistake the opinions of that particular author with fact. There should be limitations to how much expression is possible on the Internet because the Internet isn't written in pencil, it's written in pen. Once something is up, everyone can see it and there's no getting rid of it.
6) In traditional media communication, it has the "vertical" authority. In the Web communication, it becomes "horizontal?" How do you explain the change? How does this create the possibility for digital media convergence?
- In traditional media communication, there was much more credibility behind what is posted on the internet giving it a "vertical" model of authority. However, by eliminating the expertise behind posts, and putting everyone on an equal level of credibility, it becomes more "horizontal." This creates the possibility for digital media convergence because now people can honestly say that what they have to say matters to a great amount of people. With the more users comes more content and more sharing of said content.
7) Why is that the Web is free critical for the success of the Web itself? How does that clash with the corporate business ideology? How does that pose challenges for copyright issues at the same time? What will happen if the Web is not free?
- The fact that the Web is free is absolutely vital to its success because that is what got it all of its users in the first place. It's what lured billions to it, and, if they take that aspect away, it's all downhill from there for the Web. However, there are a lot of issues with corporate business and copyright issues. Napster, for example, was taken to court and shut down due to violation of copyright laws but Napster was a big thing in that it was the start of the steady decline of the amount of money that corporate companies make when they create albums due to free sharing of music among users of the Web. A more recent issue regarding copyright and corporations losing money due to the Web is YouTube and "copyright strikes." Now, YouTube users will get banned after having three instances of uploading copyrighted material without permission. However, that won't stop them from making more and more accounts and sharing with more and more people. There's really no way that the corporations will ever win the battle on copyright regarding YouTube which is terrible for the business and money making aspect of those corporations. If the Web is not free, the digital divide that was mentioned in the first question will get exponentially larger. Along with that, less users will use it and there will be less balance regarding who has access to what than there already is.
1) The web is celebrated as the revolutionary technology that is great leveling of humanity creating equal oppurtunity, equal access, and equal potential. However, there are only a quarter of people on the earth who can use it. How do you explain the controversial argument here?
- The basic issue is regarding countries that are not able to access the internet both in 3rd world locations, such as Africa which was mentioned in the video, and even certain 1st world locations that simply cannot afford a computer or the costs that come with it. So, unfortunately, the 25% of people become handicapped by the web and are unable to connect with the other 75% of the population that cannot use it.
2) How is Wikipedia the best example to implement the leveling ideas of the Web rooted in the cultural revolution of 1960s, namely the Libertarianism in the counter culture? How does it explain some of the digital convergences?
- In Libertarianism, expertise and hierarchy do not matter. That is exactly what Wikipedia is all about. Absolutely anyone from anywhere can post whatever they want onto Wikipedia and have their voices heard regardless of their level of expertise or knowledge on the subject. It's a perfect explanation of digital convergences because it is a bunch of people that are able to connect to each other and share like information through the World Wide Web.
3) How does the Web make it possible for different kinds of digital convergence?
- Like I mentioned in my answer to the previous question, the Web is one of the biggest promoters of digital convergence. It is all about people who, through social media, blogs, and many other forms of communication, are able to access countless content even from their mobile device. That is what digital convergence is all about.
4) How can the Internet become a challenge for traditional authority? Use the political landscape changes in some countries to illustrate your answer.
- The Internet is one of the absolute greatest challenges for traditional authority. The one perfect example is the example of Oly Okollah who began a blog documenting the uncensored truth regarding violence in Kenya. By showing, through the Internet, the harsh treatment people in Kenya were going through, it put immense pressure on the government who started to force change.
5) Do you believe that getting information free can set us free eventually? Why or why not? Do you see any concerns of the complete freedom or self-expression without limit on the Internet? Why or why not?
- I believe that getting information free is good and bad. It's good because, obviously, we all desire to have the access to all the information we can possibly have and we do not like to be kept in the dark regarding anything. However, if we are able to get all our information free, we would begin to settle for information that lacks credibility and expertise. The complete freedom and self-expression without limit on the Internet is also very risky. If something gains credibility when it doesn't rightfully deserve it, people will begin to mistake the opinions of that particular author with fact. There should be limitations to how much expression is possible on the Internet because the Internet isn't written in pencil, it's written in pen. Once something is up, everyone can see it and there's no getting rid of it.
6) In traditional media communication, it has the "vertical" authority. In the Web communication, it becomes "horizontal?" How do you explain the change? How does this create the possibility for digital media convergence?
- In traditional media communication, there was much more credibility behind what is posted on the internet giving it a "vertical" model of authority. However, by eliminating the expertise behind posts, and putting everyone on an equal level of credibility, it becomes more "horizontal." This creates the possibility for digital media convergence because now people can honestly say that what they have to say matters to a great amount of people. With the more users comes more content and more sharing of said content.
7) Why is that the Web is free critical for the success of the Web itself? How does that clash with the corporate business ideology? How does that pose challenges for copyright issues at the same time? What will happen if the Web is not free?
- The fact that the Web is free is absolutely vital to its success because that is what got it all of its users in the first place. It's what lured billions to it, and, if they take that aspect away, it's all downhill from there for the Web. However, there are a lot of issues with corporate business and copyright issues. Napster, for example, was taken to court and shut down due to violation of copyright laws but Napster was a big thing in that it was the start of the steady decline of the amount of money that corporate companies make when they create albums due to free sharing of music among users of the Web. A more recent issue regarding copyright and corporations losing money due to the Web is YouTube and "copyright strikes." Now, YouTube users will get banned after having three instances of uploading copyrighted material without permission. However, that won't stop them from making more and more accounts and sharing with more and more people. There's really no way that the corporations will ever win the battle on copyright regarding YouTube which is terrible for the business and money making aspect of those corporations. If the Web is not free, the digital divide that was mentioned in the first question will get exponentially larger. Along with that, less users will use it and there will be less balance regarding who has access to what than there already is.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Questions for the article "Historical Development of the Internet and World Wide Web"
All answers by: James Wrona
1) Why is broadband service the key for the success of online communication? What are social effects of broadband service? How does the broadband service make digital convergence possible?
- Broadband service is the key for the success of online communication because it has allowed for much more interactivity, bandwidth, and a new acoustic world to be formed in the digital age. One of the biggest social effects of broadband service is that we can access much more information in real time based upon the transfer, creation, and consumption of information. Broadband service makes digital convergence possible by allowing users to access the World Wide Web which is the headquarters of convergence. Now, we can stream a wide variety of things at remarkably fast speeds.
2) Why does the use of World Wide Web open the door of the Internet communication to a much wider audience? In what way does the Web with graphical web browsers move the online communication to "acoustic world" discussed in the previous class?
- The World Wide Web opens the door of Internet communication to a much wider audience by providing servers which are all connected through different IP addresses, websites, and servers. What that means is that it can be accessed, essentially, by anyone, anywhere, or anytime. The Web moves the online communication to the "acoustic world" by allowing the internet to be interactive and interactivity is the key to an acoustic world.
3) How might telecommunication change if the government supporter the development of broadband Internet for everyone?
- It would change the way that information would be created, distributed, and consumed. It would also make information much more accessible to everyone regardless of whether they are rich or poor. Information would be free for anyone to get access to.
4) News organizations were changed by the telegraph, and a whole new business of news, that of the wire services, was created because of the telegraph. Discuss other industries that could benefit from rapid dissemination of information and how and why they would benefit from it.
- With a rapid dissemination of information, commercial companies would be able to make much more money and reach more people while their ad may still be relevant as opposed to being too late. If they were able to find out about what happened during the moment that it happened, they would be able to create an advertisement playing off of that event which will reach more people faster so they would wind up making more money for their company.
5) Choose one of the common methods of online communication and think of how it could be improved in terms of facilitating communication between people, ensuring quality communication, and enabling the greatest number of users to distribute information.
- Without a doubt, twitter is becoming bigger and bigger as far as being able to communicate with people both close to you and on the other side of the world with a single click. By adding a single hash tag, people who didn't even know you existed are now able to read what you have to say about a particular event. It is definitely one of the biggest methods of online communication and companies are realizing that and incorporating it by adding hash tags to commercials and television shows.
1) Why is broadband service the key for the success of online communication? What are social effects of broadband service? How does the broadband service make digital convergence possible?
- Broadband service is the key for the success of online communication because it has allowed for much more interactivity, bandwidth, and a new acoustic world to be formed in the digital age. One of the biggest social effects of broadband service is that we can access much more information in real time based upon the transfer, creation, and consumption of information. Broadband service makes digital convergence possible by allowing users to access the World Wide Web which is the headquarters of convergence. Now, we can stream a wide variety of things at remarkably fast speeds.
2) Why does the use of World Wide Web open the door of the Internet communication to a much wider audience? In what way does the Web with graphical web browsers move the online communication to "acoustic world" discussed in the previous class?
- The World Wide Web opens the door of Internet communication to a much wider audience by providing servers which are all connected through different IP addresses, websites, and servers. What that means is that it can be accessed, essentially, by anyone, anywhere, or anytime. The Web moves the online communication to the "acoustic world" by allowing the internet to be interactive and interactivity is the key to an acoustic world.
3) How might telecommunication change if the government supporter the development of broadband Internet for everyone?
- It would change the way that information would be created, distributed, and consumed. It would also make information much more accessible to everyone regardless of whether they are rich or poor. Information would be free for anyone to get access to.
4) News organizations were changed by the telegraph, and a whole new business of news, that of the wire services, was created because of the telegraph. Discuss other industries that could benefit from rapid dissemination of information and how and why they would benefit from it.
- With a rapid dissemination of information, commercial companies would be able to make much more money and reach more people while their ad may still be relevant as opposed to being too late. If they were able to find out about what happened during the moment that it happened, they would be able to create an advertisement playing off of that event which will reach more people faster so they would wind up making more money for their company.
5) Choose one of the common methods of online communication and think of how it could be improved in terms of facilitating communication between people, ensuring quality communication, and enabling the greatest number of users to distribute information.
- Without a doubt, twitter is becoming bigger and bigger as far as being able to communicate with people both close to you and on the other side of the world with a single click. By adding a single hash tag, people who didn't even know you existed are now able to read what you have to say about a particular event. It is definitely one of the biggest methods of online communication and companies are realizing that and incorporating it by adding hash tags to commercials and television shows.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Questions for "The Song of the Alphabet in Cyberspace."
All answers by: James Wrona
1) What are the differences between the pre-literate acoustic world and the alphabet visual world? How does the media of television become a part of the acoustic world?
- In the pre-literate acoustic world, information lacked biases and was one directional able to be accessed from anywhere and everywhere. In the alphabet visual world, everything has a meaning along with a purpose promoting abstract thought. It is dictated by much higher and more structured thought. The media of television becomes a part of the acoustic world because it plays to our five senses because it is "musical, mythic and immersive while lacking a defined perspective."
2) Why does the alphabet have the segregating tendencies? How exactly does the printing press reverse the segregating tendencies?
- Because the alphabet is so complex and abstract in thought, naturally, it will have segregating tendencies. At first, very few people were able to understand the alphabet or create thoughts using the alphabet. The printing press reversed those segregating tendencies by making printed material and text much more available to everyone so now everyone is able to access the alphabet and use it to gain knowledge and thought processes.
3) How does the alphabetic communication in online communication make cyberspace acoustic? How is the online acoustic world different from the television, radio, or print acoustic world?
- Alphabetic communication in online communication makes cyberspace acoustic because it covers every aspect of every form of communication that we are aware of. The alphabet places language into different forms that are able to simulate all of our senses. The online acoustic world is different from the the television, radio, or print acoustic world because they are closed, acoustic spaces.
4) Not only do we invent media and media technologies but also we select their uses in different contexts. What are the two selection criteria? According to the selection criteria, please discuss what will happen to our online communication in 20 years.
- The two selection criteria are that "We want media to extend our communication beyond biological boundaries and we want media to recapture elements of that biological communication even though we have exceeded it in our extensions." Based off of these selection criteria, in 20 years our online communication will have grown exponentially because we will never settle. So, technology will continue to grow and change and the technology that is not able to change with the times fast enough will become irrelevant.
1) What are the differences between the pre-literate acoustic world and the alphabet visual world? How does the media of television become a part of the acoustic world?
- In the pre-literate acoustic world, information lacked biases and was one directional able to be accessed from anywhere and everywhere. In the alphabet visual world, everything has a meaning along with a purpose promoting abstract thought. It is dictated by much higher and more structured thought. The media of television becomes a part of the acoustic world because it plays to our five senses because it is "musical, mythic and immersive while lacking a defined perspective."
2) Why does the alphabet have the segregating tendencies? How exactly does the printing press reverse the segregating tendencies?
- Because the alphabet is so complex and abstract in thought, naturally, it will have segregating tendencies. At first, very few people were able to understand the alphabet or create thoughts using the alphabet. The printing press reversed those segregating tendencies by making printed material and text much more available to everyone so now everyone is able to access the alphabet and use it to gain knowledge and thought processes.
3) How does the alphabetic communication in online communication make cyberspace acoustic? How is the online acoustic world different from the television, radio, or print acoustic world?
- Alphabetic communication in online communication makes cyberspace acoustic because it covers every aspect of every form of communication that we are aware of. The alphabet places language into different forms that are able to simulate all of our senses. The online acoustic world is different from the the television, radio, or print acoustic world because they are closed, acoustic spaces.
4) Not only do we invent media and media technologies but also we select their uses in different contexts. What are the two selection criteria? According to the selection criteria, please discuss what will happen to our online communication in 20 years.
- The two selection criteria are that "We want media to extend our communication beyond biological boundaries and we want media to recapture elements of that biological communication even though we have exceeded it in our extensions." Based off of these selection criteria, in 20 years our online communication will have grown exponentially because we will never settle. So, technology will continue to grow and change and the technology that is not able to change with the times fast enough will become irrelevant.
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