Lab+Assignments

These Are My Weekly Lab Assignments:

Week 2 Discussion:

**Can Video Games be considered another new mass media? What makes Video Games a different medium from conventional movies and music? Why are video games catching on?**
Video games can be considered a new type of mass media for a few reasons. First of all, video games contain messages and ideologies aimed at their users, whether it be about a specific race, gender, religion or sex. Also increasingly seen throughout video games is product placement -- Coke machines scattered throughout levels, Billboards in futuristic cities with BMW's on them, main characters wearing Nike shoes, etc.

Video games are a different medium from convention forms such as movies and music because whether or not it is a media medium is controversial. Every users experience of a video game is different, however as internet play on video games begins to increase and players interact with one another more, the consensus of a general school of through will continue to grow. Video games struggle to fall into the 'mass media' definition of intending to deliver mass communication through a given medium. People have been watching movies and music, which have been around and popular for decades. Because of this, they are accustom and almost jaded to certain types of explicit and implicit messaging.

However, with the recent emergence of video games, users are unaware of the possible messages and implications they can have. Finally, video games are catching on because they are an amazing way to experience things without the fear, cost or lack of reality holding them back. It makes the impossible, possible. You can be a rock star, an army soldier, an alien, a race car driver and many other things in between. They are a great way to spend some time, have fun and experience another life while maintaining the safety of your own.

Week 3 Discussion:

Why are new genres created? Why is the definition of genre controversial and not so applicable to the formation of digital genres?
Genres are created to group together likenesses within any given element to support discourse in a community. Detective stories and scientific articles are examples of two types of documents that have identifiable elements, rules of form and content, which are the basic elements of any genre.

Hypermedia genres are controversial because select researchers argue that orientation and navigation of any given space are completely different from user to user and each one's perception of rules, information and space vary, which break the general conventions of a genre. It is argued that because the digital domain acquired many likenesses to analog conventions for ease of use and navigation such as layouts, guides and locations, it is difficult for the new medium types to evolve and create new genres.

Week 4 Discussion:

Do you agree with McLuhan when he states comics are an extension of photographic media? Why or why not?
I agree when McLuhan states that comics are an extension of photographic media. He touches on the fact any comic strip provides very little information on any space, object or time, limiting interpretation by viewers. This is a "cold" media -- one that forces viewers to view in the blanks. This is the opposite of a "hot" media -- one that allows viewers to be passive and just sit back and absorb information with minimal activity.

Comics are an extension of photographic media because they have the ability to take one specific instance and define it by giving it relative substance through text such as plot, characters, story and development, which independent of the comic would be rendered meaningless. Comics have the ability to explicitly give meaning and information to pictures which enhance their definition to viewers, which standing alone could be weak and practically meaningless.

Week 5 Discussion:

Do you see that conventional means of mass media advertising can translate into Second Life? Provide reasons why or why not?
Mass media advertising has definitely penetrated the online, artificial world of Second Life in the same, conventional ways as always, just in a different world. The advertisements found in Second Life are similar to that of the ones we, humans in the real world, encounter on a daily basis. These types of ads include, but are not limited to billboards, bus benches, avatar apparel, buildings, signs, search engines and newspapers.

It is evident that conventional means of mass media have extended themselves into Second Life most apparently through the shopping store's function. Second Life has allowed businesses to buy property in their virtual land and use it to make stores and sell products to user's avatars. This seemingly crazy idea has flourished and continued to prosper and grow as the Second Life community does so as well.

Week 6 Discussion:

Using **at least** three concepts from the supplement on Web Comics from McCloud, how does the comic you chose makes use of the technique?
The comic I chose to view on thewebcomiclist.com was "Bear Vs. Zombies". It utilizes the following of McCloud's mentioned web comic techniques:

1) Classic Black Linework -- There are no lightened colours, blurred lines or borderless background shapes to indicate depth. The artist stuck with a traditional contrast which readers are familiar with.

2) Similar Paper Layout -- Each frame and strip fits perfectly on the page without scrolling at a convenient, readable size, but instead of turning the page in a newspaper or book, you simply click the "next" arrow below the strip to continue reading.

3) "Screen as Window" Approach -- The entire story has the ability to be laid out on one, large, uninterrupted path, unlike on paper. This allows the story to shape and suggest the subdivisions that best fit the narrative without being constrained technologically.

Week 7 Discussion:

Week 8 Discussion:

===Select an article under any section and critically analyze it using FAIR’s FAQ. Follow the questions and make an assessment. Decide as a pair whether you consider this specific news article objective. Explain why or why not?===

The article that I chose to do my analysis on was taken from the Globe and Mail, entitled //Flu Fears Eat Into The Buffet Bizz//, found at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/h1n1-swine-flu/flu-fears-eat-into-the-buffet-biz/article1350212/

1. Who are the sources? The sources of the article are the journalist, Dakshana Bascaramurty and the people she interviewed, manager Rui Yang of Dragon Buffet King, Frances Liu, manager of Winnipeg's Foody Goody Chinese Buffet, as well as Garth Whyte, president and chief executive officer of the CRFA.

2. Is there a lack of diversity? There may be a minute lack of diversity simply because most buffet's across Canada are primarily Chinese food restaurants. Because of this, all the people interviewed were Chinese restaurant owners, however this excludes other segregation of buffets such as Tuckers Marketplace and Ponderosa.

3. From whose point of view is the news reported? This article is reported from a public connoisseur's standpoint. It is not biased in any way related to the business or attempted promotion of any given restaurant. Rather, it is simply a statement on the decline in the buffet industry since the H1N1 outbreak.

4. Are there double standards? There are no double standards in this article. The author measures each restaurant and holds each customer as accountable as the rest. There is no sense of favoritism or preference throughout the article.

5. Do stereotypes skew coverage? In this scenario, the stereotypes of the H1N1 virus have skewed the coverage slightly. The original misunderstanding of the H1N1 virus and how it is contracted have evidently caused a fear in people, which is causing a lapse in the buffet industry, as reported. The flu fear, caused by it's mixed up reports as weeks have passed have caused confusion in people, forcing them to take extra precautions that might not be necessary, such as avoiding a buffet.

6. Is the language loaded? The language is not loaded. The author successfully tones down the technical medical jargon so that the common reader is able to understand on a basic level without having prior knowledge of the virus.

7. Is there a lack of content? There is no lack of content. The topic, however quite dull, is as full of information as it could possibly be. It examines all appropriate news angles and interviews all of the necessary people who's opinions are legitimate and would matter on this topic of interest.

8. Does the headline and story match? The headline and story do match. The title is completely indicative of what the article talks about and is not misleading in any way.

9. Are stories on important issues featured prominently? The globe and mail is a worldly, highly educated, recognizable newspaper that always promotes important stories presented in an educated way.

Week 11

Build a social networking site. Using some advice on these slides incorporate some functions to your SNS and explain how these features contribute to your visibility online.
The website I created was:

http://social-networking-wonders.socialgo.com/

I used some advice from the class slides and attempted to incorporate my other social networks into my website to easily access many people from where they are most comfortable. I posted links to the website on both my twitter and facebook account, which will allow people to access it simply by the click of a mouse.

Week 10

How does Twine fit in to the descriptions of Web 3.0 outlined in the aforementioned slides? What features of Twine did you find most relevant to Web 3.0?
Twine is a perfect example of the Web 3.0 movement. It is a successful combination of web 1.0 and 2.0. It combines the practical, relevant features of web design from 1.0 with the social aspect of web 2.0. It explores new ways of cataloging and collecting information and storing it in a more relevant, effective fashion. The most relevant feature of Twine that can be related to web 3.0 is that Twine is powered by semantic understanding, meaning it gets to know each user by logging what they do, view and search, and based on these findings, is able to recommend things that one would be interested in. Similar to newer, successful programs that attempt to know their uses such as Amazon.com and Apple's Genius application.