Bonus Mission #2: Virtually Sociable

Everyone knows that computer gaming is used just to entertain and distract us from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Imagine if computer games are no longer just controlling two lines on the screen, bouncing a ball of each other. Today, computer games have evolved into a highly interactive social, three-dimensional (3-D) virtual environment where people can interact, and play the game together. With the advent of the Internet, you can now play computer games with your friends overseas with just one click.

Why Second Life is NOT a game

Second Life (SL) is an example of such virtual social spaces. SL, created by Linden Lab, enables its users (aptly named, “Residents”) to “interact with each other through emotional avatars, providing an advanced level of a social networking service.” (Second Life, 2007)

To sum up SL, it would not be considered a game because it is merely a social networking virtual place. Think of it as a cross between a social networking site, like “Friendster”, and E-bay, only in 3-D. Although SL is sometimes referred to as a game, the character (or in this case the avatar) does not go through any character development. In that, there is no growth – in experience levels, power, strength, etc – that most multiplayer computer games, like the World of Warcraft (WOW), have.

“While Second Life is sometimes referred to as a game, it does not have points, scores, winners or losers, levels, an end-strategy, or most of the other characteristics of games.” (Second Life, 2007)

While, like SL, WOW has its own economy, WOW is also able to make heroic celebrities of its users through specific conquests. Unlike SL, which only involves social exchanges and trading, WOW throws its users into a sword-swinging, spell-casting action adventure fantasy world that is waiting to be conquered. So attractive is this game, that people can be addicted to trying to increase their character’s “level” inorder to defeat other “guilds” or to complete certain quests. This process has even known to have caused deaths. (Levy, 2007)

How virtual worlds, like Second Life, could be used for more than mere entertainment.

Virtual spaces can be used for more than entertainment. It can also be used for political messages and propaganda. Like one gamer on the game “American Army” used it to remind players of the horrors of war by posting a name of a soldier who died in Iraq every time he gets killed in the game. This gamer used that virtual space as a “war protest and memorial to dead soldiers.” And ironically, the US military, funded the game to interest boys as young as 13 to join the army (Clarren, 2006)

Conclusion

With virtual spaces, the lines between fantasy and reality have been blurred. Games like SL and WOW, despite of their differences, provide a virtual space for people to interact in a full 3-D environment, making online social networking more realistic compared to conventional social networking sites. However, virtual spaces can be harnessed to be used for more than just entertainment and socializing. It could also be used to send out powerful messages which can be extremely effective due to the increasing traffic of people online looking for a distraction from the real world.

REFERENCES:

Clarren, R. (2006). Virtually Dead in Iraq. Retrieved on April 07, 2007 from http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/09/16/americasarmy/index.html

Levy, S. (2007). World of Warcraft: Is It a Game? Retrieved on April 07, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14757769/site/newsweek/page/3/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Second Life (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on April 07, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Life&oldid=120696573

QOTW10: Oh the Lag...

The one thing that bothered me the most on Second Life (SL) was the LAG... However, I did go about to setting up my account and personalised my character. I must say the process was fun! By the way, my name on SL is xunja Bade - to those who might want to add me.

Now on to the assignment...

ascending angel on the horizon


descending angel (notice the flow-y cloak I got!)

Flying has never been so exciting! And you cannot fly in style unless you have ANGEL wings! It is not exactly the perfect representation of me, except for the faux mohawk. However, he represents my favourite Marvel character; Angel. SL is a virtual space that lets you be whoever you want to be, and who better to be than your favourite superhero!

Now on to my favourite spaces on SL:

FOR SPARTA!!!

"TONIGHT WE DINE... IN HELL! SPARTANS? Where'd you all go?"

One of my favourite movies of the year so far is 300 and surprising enough, SL has a space that is an EXACT replica of Sparta in Silverscreen. It even has free costumes for your, shields, helmets and all. (on Silverscreen 193/62/33 - for those who want to experience it for yourself) It was the dream come true for me to have my character be a Spartan. Even if it's just for a while.

Yes, I live vicariously through my character in Second Life. But isn't that what Second Life is all about?

QOTW9: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Armed with a camera enabled mobile phone, anyone can now be part of the journalism circuit. The dawn of citizen journalism have sparked tremendous responses from the general public. This phenomenon is largely due to the convenience of today's technology especially here in Singapore.

Everyone, well, almost everyone here is equipped with mobile phones with cameras, digital cameras and most importantly, high speed access to the internet. Thus citizens are able to capture news and images at a moments' notice and post it online. All these conveniences would grant anyone the prospect of being a journalist.

"To understand the evolution of tomorrow’s news, we need to understand the technologies that are making it possible. The tools of tomorrow’s participatory journalism are evolving quickly."

(Gillmore, 2004)

What is Citizen Journalism?

Citizen journalism, also known as "participatory journalism", is the act of citizens playing an actiave role in collecting, reporting and desseminating news and information (Citizen Journalism, 2007). With the evolution of the Internet, websites are no longer just a "read only" medium but a "read-write" medium. We now, than ever before, have access to a broader variety of current information, and we can use it with increasing sophistication (Gillmore, 2004).

This allows users to actively participate online, in this case to desseminate news and information, to create a form of "user generated content" for the people who want to be better informed. Today, to get "up-to-the-minute" and valid news, the Internet is the key.


STOMP - Singapore's Platform?



STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile Print), a website hosted by Singapore Press Holdings, hopes to "engage" Singaporeans in "exciting new ways". STOMP is a site that delievers interactive content that will, "develop new communities of Singaporeans bonded together by shared interests." (http://www.stomp.com.sg/about/about.html)

With that said, STOMP is a very good example for a platform for citizen journalism. I reiterate, it is a good platform, not an ideal one. It is a good platform for citizen journalism because of the traffic and the fact that there are alot of Singaporeans who are actively participating. However, the website looks more like just one big, interactive forum. I would admit that there are a couple of very interesting "stories", but none of them would come close to a journalistic write up.

An example of an "ideal" citizen journalism platform for me, personally, would be OhMyNews (http://english.ohmynews.com/index.asp) - An online newspaper in Korea (now International) that accept, edit and publish articles from its readers, in open source style of news reporting.

This is ideal because, like STOMP, it also have many interactive elements to it. But unlike STOMP, it involves news internationally with writers from all over the globe. And unlike STOMP, all the stories published have full journalistic qualities.

Improvements:

The improvements I would make to STOMP is to involve more journalistic work other than the random pictures and "shabby" write ups. Not all news websites have to be boring, and STOMP is the clear example of that. However, the website is too "casual" for my taste. Especially when it aims to be "a more interactive form" of news provider (http://www.stomp.com.sg/about/about.html). "News" being the operative word, it can be a more professional news site and still be able to "engage" the readers in areas that appeal to them.


REFERENCES:

Citizen Journalism, (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on March 30, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citizen_journalism&oldid=118429022

Gillmore, D. (2004). We, the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. Retrived on March 30, 2007 from http://download.nowis.com/index.cfm?phile=WeTheMedia.html&tipe=text/html#chap1

OhMyNews. Retrieved on March 30, 2007 from http://english.ohmynews.com/index.asp

STOMP. Retrieved on March 30, 2007 from http://www.stomp.com.sg/

QOTW7: Twitter Dum, Twitter Dee

Don't you just LOVE social networking sites? Like Friendster isn't popular enough, there are a host, make that a galaxy of other web sites that let you connect with friends. To date, I am part of a myriad of different websites; from Friendster, to MySpace, to Live Journal, to Blogger and most recently, Twitter. It's overwhelming I tell you, frankly speaking, I have a hard time trying to keep up with just Friendster, let alone the rest of the social networking sites.

However, in today's information age, especially when WEB 2.0 where the internet is no longer passive but ever so interactive, these web sites are the core to many people's social networks. Without them, our social circle would probably consist of only people in our immediate circle of friends. These online communities allow us to explode our social circle exponentially. It also makes for a good ice breaker. So, do you have a Friendster account or a blog I can peruse?


WHAT IS AN ONLINE/VIRTUAL COMMUNITY?

The concept of a community use to refer to a set of relationships that operate within a specific boundary or locale (Fernback & Thompson, 1995). However, with the advent of the Internet, all boundaries of time and space is broken, allowing people to communicate anywhere and at any time. This breaking down of boundaries have created a new form of community; the online community; communities that exist in cyberspace. More specifically, a group of people that may or may not primarily or initially communicate or interact via the Internet(Virtual Communities, 2007).

SO IS TWITTER A ONLINE COMMUNITY?

Twitter is a online social networking service that allows members to inform each other of what they are doing and what they think (Twitter, 2007). More inportantly it allows members to interact with each other through their "friends" list or their social networks on the site. It is akin to visiting a friend for a conversation, for idle chat or a sprited debate. The site is mainly used for information gathering(Wellman & Gulia, 1996).

On example of that is a "conversation" our class had with Kevin today. The interaction we had was both sponteneous and dynamic. People were interacting like they were in "real life". The community per se here is mainly the people in our class.

WHY DOES TWITTER CONSTITUTE AS AN ONLINE COMMUNITY?

Twitter is a platform for the creation of the same class community outside of the classroom. A kind of pseudo-community. This newly formed community is almost the same as a real life class room community but it transends the boundary of space(Fernback & Thompson, 1995).

Twitter also serves as a supplement for companionship, social support and a sense of belonging (Wellman & Gulia, 1996). How so you might ask? For example, I might be alone at home and I see on the site that a couple of my friends have posted. This creates an avenue for me to communicate with them via the site despite being alone at home.

Twitter also acts like a forum or a bullitin board where people can post their comments, or in this case their thoughts. Don't know what to study for the exam? Post a question here and someone might just answer you. Feeling down because you have just gone through a bad break up? Post it up and some of your "friends" may console you.

CONCLUSION...

To answer the increasingly asked question; are online communities "real" communities. Well, for one thing online communities are not about to replace real ones. To say the least, online communities mainly supplement the real communities. With that note, online communities are not real communities but an extension of people's physical social network. However, online communities differ from real communities when it comes to intimate relationships (Fernback et.al., 1995 & Wellman et.al., 1996). In that, it is not humanly possible to have a intimate relationship with all the hundred over or even thousands of your friends on Friendster alone?

Oh and Twitter IS a web site that houses online communities. :)

REFERENCES:

Fernback, J. & Thompson, B. (1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry or Failure? Retrieved on March 15, 2007 from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html

Twitter. (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on March 15, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virtual_community&oldid=115277136

Virtual Communities. (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on March 15, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Twitter&oldid=115023086

Wellman, B. & Gulia, M. (1996). Netsurfers Don't Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities. Retrieved on March 15, 2007 from http://www.acm.org/%7Eccp/references/wellman/wellman.html

QOTW6: Privacy = Leave Me Alone!

Imagine for a second that when you are making a private phone call to your significant other, and someone listens on your conversation. Or worse, people actually know your exact location, that your mobile phone has become a mini homing beacon. Sounds like something you would see only in movies? But with today's technology advancement, these issues are no longer science fiction. We are being watched, whether we like it or not.

WHAT IS PRIVACY?

Privacy is to keep one's life or personal affairs out of the prying eyes of the public and/or to control the amount of information disclosed (Privacy, 2007). However, with the advent of the Internet today, especially when information is being exhanged constantly, the term of privacy has become somewhat vague and difficult to define. The nearest thing to consensus is, "Privacy is just to be left alone."(Sullivan, 2006)

Online, the issue of privacy has become so prevalent that the use of anonymity and pseudonymity have become a staple to ensure one's privacy in the online community.

NEGOTIATING TRUST...

Privacy, however can be used as a currency to buy trust, the trust so crucially needed to maintain online relationships. With the Internet, we are increasingly faced with situations where we are forced to interact with people we never met face-to-face before. In order to start or maintain a relationship with these people online, we are constantly feeling the pressure to disclose private information of ourselves to make up for the loss of cues that aid in "trustworthiness" in face-to-face interactions (Rosen, 2004).

Personally, I can relate to it as I am a member of the popular social networking web site, Friendster. In order to make new friends, I would certainly have to disclose something personal about myself to seem more sincere and genuine. Or in this case, trustworthy enough. Like wise, I would expect the same in return.

PRIVACY IN THE REAL WORLD...

With the popularity of mobile phones, the issue of privacy has become an even bigger problem especially with the introduction of mobile phones equipped with cameras. This has made the invasion of one's privacy even more convenient. Alot more convenient.

While news of this is known to everyone, people are still ignorant to the invasive and dangerous these cameras can be (Sullivan, 2006). Take for example photos, of women exposing their underwear publicly, that were plastered online, apparently taken by some perverts with their camera mobile phones. Or photos posted online of people on the MRT behaving in less-than-courteous ways.

These images can be both damaging and incriminating. My advice for people out there? Be cautious of people around you behaving suspicious with their camera phones. Or better yet, just don't do something embarassing or stupid in public that you won't want others to see.

OTHER EXAMPLES:

The work place, too, is not spared. Though it might be illegal, you will never know who's listening in on your private conversations or going through your e-mails. My mum has had a brush with that experience at work with a "I'm-more-interested-in-gossip-than-my-work" boss. Well, at least she suspected she was being monitered. The best way out of this situation is just to have private conversations on your private mobile phone and not with your office phone. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

However, on the other side of the spectrum, there are people who explicitly exhibit their private lives through their personal blogs. Though not to the extent that they tell the entire online community their credit card number. But enough to make it seem like we have known these bloggers for years. Like for example, the pseudo-celebrity Xiaxue who gave us explicit accounts of her recent nose job, with pictures, no less!

CONCLUSION...

To conclude, the topic of privacy is very objective to different people. To some, they think that being monitored is nothing to be worried about because they have nothing to hide. To others, even with the knowledge that their lives might be observed, they still live their lives assuming a "mythical level of privacy"(Sullivan, 2006). I would like to end with one last example of privacy, or the invasion of it. The reality show, Big Brother. Where contestants of the show, who are staying under one roof, are filmed 24/7, even during baths and toilet breaks. This is a gross exggeration of how one's privacy can be invaded.









So to all out there, please becareful with what you do. Big Brother is watching...










REFERENCES:

Privacy (7th March, 2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 8th March, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Privacy&oldid=113354124

Rosen, J. (19th July, 2004). "The Naked Crowd". Retrieved on 8th March, 2007 from http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/0000000CA5FF.htm

Sullivan, B. (17th October, 2006). "Privacy Lost: Does Anyone Care?". Retrieved on 8th March, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/print/1/displaymode/1098/

QOTW5: WHO AM I, really?

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QOTW4: An Eye for An Eye, Tit for Tat and All That....

Thoughout time, people have been giving and receiving. More importantly, receiving. Altruism has long since been a thing of the past. No matter how much you would deny it, we all expect something in return when we give. It is like with some department stores' policy of exhange. The exchanged good should be of equal or higher value than the good to be exhanged.

"A gift is a tranfer of a good without explicit specifications of a quid pro quo... Usually, a gift entails reciprocity: the giver expects something in return for the gift given."
(Klamer, 2003)

What is a "Gift Economy"?

A gift economy is mainly an economic system that employs a mode of exchange of goods and services without a specific agreement upon reciprocity. This sort of economic system is more prevalent in cultural contexts where there is an expectation for reciprocity. (Gift economy, 2007) Reciprocity may not be expected to come immediately, but it certainly is not being overlooked. Say, for example, you buy a birthday present for someone, you would not expect a gift in return but rather, you would expect a gift on your own birthday.

When there is an expectation of reciprocity, the conditions remain undetermined and ambiguous. In that, when you expect something in return for your gift, you would not discuss the what, when and how. (Klamer, 2003)

What motivates people to give?

The following are most likely what drives people to give:

1.Reciprocity

Perhaps the most anticipated factor that motivates people to give. Gifts are everywhere, bosses sometimes give gifts, however, employees would be obligated to return the favor; in this case, to work longer hours. Or it could be the other way round, where employees work longer hours in hope of some unspecified return. (Klamer, 2003)

2.Reputation

The willingness to help others can all work to increase one's prestige in a community. Also, the desire for prestige is another main motivating factor of an individual's contributions. (Kollock, 1999) People tend to give to impress. We can see that from a certain charity organization(which shall not be named), where they throw lavish dinner parties in honor of the high rollers who donate large sums of money to the organization.

3.Sense of Efficacy

The feeling an individual has that makes them feel that they have some effect on the environment around them. (Kollock, 1999) The argument here is that even the most altuistic of people expects something in return. (Klamer, 2003) Like the late Mother Theresa who helped the poor in India, she too would expect the end of poverty or salvation for the people she helped. Maybe.

Examples of the Gift Economy

Examples of the gift economy is right here in multicultural Singapore. Firstly, chinese weddings. Here in Singapore, when the chinese get married, they would throw a dinner party at a hotel or restaurant for their friends and family. And in return for a meal, friends and family of couple are expected to give the newlyweds money. The amount of money given should be of equal or of a higher value of the cost per head at each table. Strangely enough, people would know exactly how much to give so as not to "lose face" (see Reputation)

Another example would be that of Chinese New Year. We wouldn't be discussing money here but rather the simple exchange of oranges. When you visit a chinese home on this festive occasion, you are expected to bring a pair of oranges to signifiy good luck and fortune. You are then expected to be returned a pair of oranges when you leave to signify the generousity of the family.

Traditions aside, information is also seen as commodity in a gift economy system. One such application of sharing of free information is Forums. Forums are an interactive online bullutin board where people share information. It is seen as free sharing, however, when people post information, they expect information back as an exchange, it may not be inmmediate, however, when the need arises, they would expect help back in return from the forum. Also, people who post information gain a reputation, whether good or bad, from the site. (see Reputation)

For programmers, there are instances where games can be downloaded free of the internet. In this case, what is in it for the programmers? Well, its that sense that they can showcase their work. (again, see Reputation) One such game is Maple Story, it is free for download, however, to be more advanced in the game, one would have to purchase game cards that would translate into the game's currency in order to buy more exclusive and more powerful weapons. So technically, the game is not free in its entirety, there still are benefits involved for the programmers. In this case, money.


Conclusion

To end, though the term "Gift Economy" is about altruistic sharing, we are merely seeing only the tip of the iceberg. People have their own self interests at heart, at best. The kind of contributions are always sensitive to the costs and benefits they entail. (Kollock, 1999) I would like to end this discussion with a quote from Lewis Hyde, author of the book, "The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property".

"...Whatever we have been given is supposed to be given away, not kept. Or, if it is kept, something of similar value should move in its stead..."
Lewis Hyde

References:

Gift Economy (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retreived on February 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gift_economy&oldid=105681971

Klamer, A. (2003). Gift Economy. A Handbook of Cultural Economics, 243-247. Retreived on February 7, 2007 from http://www.altruists.org/static/files/Gift%20Economy%20%28Arjo%20Klamer%29.pdf

Kollock, P. (1999). The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace. Retreived on February 7, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm